Yes, you're sick
by Dustwhisker
Summary: By Elliptical -Katniss gets sick and Peeta takes care of her with the help of Delly Cartwright. Takes place after Mockingjay; fluff!
1. Chapter 1

Category: Books » Hunger Games  
Author: Eliptical  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Friendship  
Published: 09-09-12, Updated: 01-03-13  
Chapters: 35, Words: 40,697  
Chapter 1: Yes, you're sick  
A/N: This is my first Fanfic, so plz review!

Summary: Katniss is sick and Peeta takes care of her, with the help of Delly. very cute and Lots of fluff!

Disclaimer: Obviously, I dont own the Hunger Games.

Normal POV

Katniss wraps her arms around Peeta's neck. She had collapsed in the meadow after a long night of hunting, and was just about to come home when she passed out. luckily, peeta was out that morning, and had seen her lying in the grass. he had raced over, scooping her up like a baby, her arms instantly wrapping around his neck. He blushed at the automatic reflex to his touch, then took her home. When Katniss woke up, she had the instant jolt of suprise. The last time she checked, she was hunting. now..she was in her room, smelling soup wafting in from down stairs. She tried to get up, but dizzines overtook her and she had to lay down again.

KATNISS POV

I lay back down, letting out a groan as the world spins out of control.

i press the back of my hand to my forehead, which is unbelievebly hot-as hot as Peeta's was in the first Games. My stomach ached, my throat was dry, and I felt hot and achy all over. The room felt too hot, and it was all I could do not to lay down on the cool hardwood floor. I flipped over my pillow, the other side warm and damp. I lay there like that, wondering who was making soup and how the heck I got here in the first place. I also noticed that I was still wearing my father's hunting jacket-which I immedietly took off-then fell into an uncomfortable, restless sleep.

Normal POV

As peeta pulld the batch of cheese buns out of the oven, he hears Katniss groan.

He takes a moment before going upstairs, wondering if it was reallly a good idea to go up there.

eventually, though, he does. He finds katniss lying on their bed, her face in the pillow, hair tangled, hands twisted into the sheets.

Peeta's POV

Caustiosley, i walk over to her. "Katniss? are you awake?" I ask her gently. i recieve another groan in response.

"Im going to take your temperature now, okay?" I reply, stroking her shoulder. her skin feels very hot. i begin to feel worried. When she dosent move, I lean over her, kissing her cheek and shoulder. Then, I gently roll her over, looking at her sleeping face. My heart drops.

Katniss, the girl who saved my life on numerous occasions, the face of the rebellion, the mockingjay, the person who survived so much in such a short time, now looked like a defeated young girl. Her Hair mangled and plastered to her face with sweat, dark circles under each eye, flushed cheeks, a tired expression on her delicate face, I wanted nothing more than to swoop her into a hug and hold her forever, but i knew i was the one responsible to take care of her.

so, instead, i slip the thermometer in her mouth, then pulled her over to my side of the bed. I replaced the sticky, hot sheets with fresh, temerature controlled ones, swapping the decorative pillows with fluffy ones, then turned my attention back to katniss.

I scooped her up again, setting her on the cool sheets, then took the thermomenter out of her mouth. 101.5

that wasnt good. I sigh with worry as i slide off the bed, walking to the bathroom.

I come out, bearing a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. i set the bowl and washcloth down on the nightstand, then turn my attention back to Katniss. She's still asleep, her face twisted in pain, and im instantly cradling her, willing her to wake up.

"Katniss" I whisper to her. she's not opening her eyes.

After rubbing her shoulder and whsipering her name, she's still asleep, and by now im just getting desperate, and do the only thing i can think of. I kiss her gently on the lips, and after a moment she pulls back, yawning hoarsley

"Don't kiss me" she says sleepily, sitting up. "I'm sick"

I smile at her. "Yeah, having a fever of one-oh-eight usually confirms that a person's sick"

she glares at me, but is cut off by some coughing. She tries to get up for a drink of water, but i stop her.

"You're always taking care of me, so it's my turn. " after some protest, she finally agrees. I get her the glass of water.

"Thank you" she says sleepily

I smile and go downstairs again, telling Katniss to change out of her hunting clothes as I leave.

When I come back after putting the cheese buns in the fridge, Katniss is lying on the bed, her hair still plastered to her face, staring out the window.

After a while she sees me and jumps a little. "I didn't see you" she confesses, sitting up.

I smile as I look at her. "You're wearing my shirt" I tell her teasingly

She glares at me in response. "Sorry if I didnt change into a fancy satin nightgown from the capitol"

I chuckle as I walk towards her, then sit crossed-legged on the bed. After a minute, she crawls over to rest her head in my lap. I use the washcloth to clean her face and neck. She has her eyes closed, coughing every now and then. Then I move on to her arms, smiling to myself when I see goosebumps on her arms wherever the cool washcloth goes.

She drifts off after a while, and I put the washcloth down and begin brushing her hair out of her face. I undo her messy braid and push all her hair off her shoulders. I put her back on her pillow before kissing her once, then leaving to go downstairs to make a phone call.

When I return with Delly behind me, Katniss is up in bed and looks suprised to see us. Of course he would. Delly never comes over.

"Hi...Delly" She says hoarsley, looking at me skeptically

I shrug in response. "You're mom's in district four, theres no real doctor in 12, Gales not coming back, Haymitch's drunk, so I called Delly to come help me"

"With..." She says, more of a question than a statement

"Taking care of you" I croon

"It's okay, Katniss!" Delly says cheerfully "I'm here to help! You're always so wonderful about taking care of everyone else, Now it's your turn!"

I smile at this. of course delly added something cheerful to the conversation.

"Is there anything you need now?" I ask Katniss, who looks like she wants nothing more than to sleep. I know she won't, though. Too many nightmares attack her when she's sick.

"Im fine" She replies.

"O-kay then, I'll be downstairs then" I say, cheesy grin on my face. "Just yell if you need anything, i sware, I'll come running faster than-"

"Go!" Katniss interupts, laughing

Katniss POV

When Peeta leaves, theres an akward silence between us, interrupted only by my coughing. After sneaking a few glances at Delly, I see shes blushing. I turn my gaze to where she was looking and realized that she noticed I was wearing Peeta's shirt. and no shorts. I pull the sheet that was left behind up to my lap, even though it was seriousey starting to get hot in here. Delly snaps out of it, looking at me, embarrased. I smile and wave it off.

"Sooo..." I begin

"HowareyoundPeetadoing?" She bursts out, speaking so fast all of her words were slurred into one.

"Um..."

this really isnt the typical question people ask me about our relationship, usually it's teasing about bread and oven jokes, or something referring to us having children.

"Fine, I guess" I reply, a blush creeping onto my already-flushed face.

"T-Thats good" She says, smiling at me. I wonder why she's so flustered.

"Delly, whats up?" I ask her, crawling over to where she was sitting, ignoring the sheet now.

"N-Nothing" she says quickly, and I notice her ears turn red

"Okay, who is he?" I ask, a sly smile on my face

"HUH?!" she cries out, shocked that I found out her secret. after a long pause, She sighs. "Okay.." She begins, a dreamy look is her expression.

"Its...Dile. From the Seam" Dile. I remember him, he was in a few of my classes before the games. he had short, black hair, he was tall, with wide-set dark grey eyes, and very thin. It made me smile to think that delly really liked him. I didn't quite remember him in 13, but then again all I did was sleep in closets and behind laundry pipes.

"Have you talked to him yet?" I ask, becoming more and more curious.

"Yeah...I dont think he's interested though." Guilt crosses her features, her blue eyes looknig at the matress.

"Part of the reason I came here was to see how Peeta acted around you, then I could see if Dile..." Her voice fades out, and I smile in understanding.

"Ohhh...you want to learn how to flirt" I chuckle. her face reddens at my comment. It was amusing to see Delly, who always knew what to say and lighten the mood, become flustered at the sound of someone's name.

Just then, Peeta came in, setting a big plate full of muffins on the bed and smiling. "Eat up" he said to us. I took one of them off the plate and then mouthed to Delly, 'Watch and Learn'

she takes a bite of her muffin and watches me.

I sigh at my muffin and Peeta notices. "Whats wrong?" He asks me with concern. I smile misheviousley back, then set the muffin down. I go and sit in his lap.

"I'm not hungry" I declare, looknig at Peeta. He looks in awe, the tips of his ears slightly pink. He wasn't used to random displays of affection from me, of all people. I rest my head against his chest and look at Delly, who looks at a loss for words, her eyes wide, her mouth open, a half-eaten muffin still n her hand.

Who would've thought me- of all people-would be good at this? I guess after four years, I was pretty much an expert.

I curl up, looking up at him longingly. Peeta, speechless. who would've thought? I smile, Then reach up and bring his head down to be level with mine. "Cat got your tounge?" I murmur to him. Instead of waiting for a response, I kiss him, quickly. just then, a timer goes off downstairs. I roll off Peeta, and silently he gets up, a light blush evident on his cheeks as he leaves, a small smile on his lips.

I turn towards Delly and shrug. "See? it's not hard" I tell her. she still looks dazed, then looks at me wistfully.

"Katniss, you're good at everything" she says. before I can protest, she adds, "I couldn't do that to Dile in a million years"

I'm about to respond when a fierce pain hits me in the head. I clutch my temple in my hand, massaging it, while Delly rushes over to my side of the bed and tries to help. I groan in pain as my stomach begins to hurt again, Delly rushes to the bathroom, and in an instant shes back with some painkillers and a glass of water. I take the medicine, thanking Delly, then lay down again. Delly sits next to me on the bed, making sure I'm okay.

the painkillers must have had morphling in them, because I drift off instantly. When she sees i'm almost asleep, she leaves, the matress lifting from where she was sitting. As she gets to the door, she whispers a 'Thank You' then leaves.

~~~~~.~~~~~

When I wake up, Peeta's cradling me in his arms. I look up to his face and see hes awake. He kisses me gently, then pulls away from me.

"Sorry about that"

"I was starting to get worried" he adds, smiling sheepishly "You were asleep for so long"

I glance outside the window, which was dark. "How long was I out?" I ask

"Six hours" he says. "Longest nap whithout a nightmare" he tells me.

I begin to cough again and instantly Peeta presses his hand to my forehead. his skin is nice and cool, so Iean into his touch.

"Wow, your fever went down" he says. I press the back of my hand to my cheek and feel that it was considerably cooler, but still warm.

"I'm going to go take a shower" I say, standing up, feeling dizzy all over again, then trip.

He caught me, since I nearly slammed my face into the dresser.

He looked at me with an 'i-told-you-so' look, so I scowled at him, untangling myself from his grasp.

I hate the flu.

"I'm fine, now. really" I say, steadying myself.

He still looks very uncertain, but I know he'll let me go eventually.

"Peeta, its the shower. I'll be fine"

Peeta still looks wary, but he finally lets me go.

..~15 Minutes Later~..

When I come back out, Peeta's still on the bed, but hes sleeping. I get dressed in another one of his shirts (partly just to annoy him) then sit on the bed, untangling and drying my hair, then put it into my usual braid.

When I'm finished and staring out the window, waiting for Peeta to get up, he starts thrashing in his sleep. Instantly, i begin to worry, since he hasnt had a nightmare in a while.

I quickly crawl over next to him, rolling his shoulders and trying to wake him up.

"Peeta, wake upppp...Peeta" after a while he does, then frantically looks around the room, and sees me next to him. He pulls me to him, hugging me and giving me a long kiss.

I pull away after a few moments. "I tohought we went over this; I'm sick" i scold him.

"Sorry" he says, smiling. "In my dream you left me and I couldnt find you, then Effie started chasing me, then I was riding a goose,and-"

"Peeta!" I cut him off with another kiss"It was a just a dream. "

He smiles at me. "Yeah, but still..."

I sigh and stand up, still using the dresser to support me. I'm still a little dizzy but also feeling restless and I want to do something.

"I'm going into town" I say, starting for the door.

"Oh no you dont!" Peeta calls, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me down to the floor with him.

"Peeta" I plead, trying to get up, "I'm better now. really"

But he dosent believe me; instead he crouches over me, pinning me down on the carpet. I sigh and look for a way out. He didn't lock the door, but it is closed, so can't go through there. The windows are closed, and its locked from he outside, to I guess I'm stuck here.

"How long are you going to pin me here?" I ask him, staring at the celieng

"Do you feel better?"

"yes"

"Then Ill keep you here until you don't"

"And how does that make sense?"

Theres a long pause and I just stare up at the wall nearest to me. This was somewhat an akward postion, and if someone were to walk in on us right now, it'd be hard to explain.

"Can I go now?" I ask Peeta, using my best helpless-sick-person voice

"Nope" he says, smiling, kissing me again

"If you get sick It's not my fault" I tell him when he pulls away.

"Mhm" he murmurs, stroking my face absently.

We stay like that for a while, near the foot of the bed, me laying down, pinned, him still crouching over me, not letting me leave.

"Can we at least go somewhwere more comfortable?" i ask, since the carpet is digging into my skin, and the fact that it was getting pretty cold down here

"Sure" Peeta says, scooping me up like earlier, laying down on the bed. He lays next to me, his arms encirling me. i lean into him, my face snuggled against his chest. "love you" I murmur against the fabric of his shirt.

"What was that?" He asks softly

I look up at him "I Love you" i repeat, and I see his eyes widen. he smiles, giving me a kiss.

"I love you too" he says. I smile at him, then lay back down against his chest, ignoring the growing pain in my head.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

When I wake, It's finally morning out, and I feel much better. I'm still with Peeta, and he's awake again.

"Morning" he says, kissing my cheek. "Your fever went down. How do you feel?"

"Im thirsty and cold" I say, propping myself on on elbow. Peeta smiles and rests his head on my shoulder, his breath warming my collar bone. He pulls the thick blanket over us, then circles his arms around me.

He kisses my neck very gently. "Still want to go into town?" he askes, his voice muffled under my hair.

"No, so you'll have to let me go" I reply, attempting to sit up, not getting anywhere since Peeta pulls me back down again.

"Katniss, It's only been two days. Please, just relax. When I'm sick, you take care of me, so it's your turn" he massages my shoulder, and i melt back agaisnt the pillows.

"Mhm" I murmur before drifting off again.

Delly POV

Peeta called me again, just to keep Katniss and him company for a while. When I arrived, Peeta opened the door, smiling. He looked like he had just woken up, his blond hair messed up on one side, his shirt wrinkled.

"I'm really sorry I keep calling you" He tells me apologetically

I'm shocked that he says this; I love coming over! their house is so beautiful and big, I love helping them!

"Not at all! you and Katniss have such a great home, and you both are so nice, and-"

I don't finish, since Katniss is calling Peeta. Peeta invites me in and I follow him up the stairs to Katniss's room. Katniss is sitting on the bed, sheets crumpled and wrinkled, And is clutching her stomach in her hands.

"Whats wrong?" Peeta asks her, rushing to her side.

"I just.. Feel sick." she moaned and I stood there, feeling helpless.

''Delly, can you get the painkillers?" Peeta asks politley, and I rush to the bathroom, grabbing the morphling pills out of the medicine cabinet and fetching a glass of water.

When I come back, katniss is in Peeta's lap, curled up in a ball, and peeta holds her while rocking back and forth. I blush when I see Katniss isn't wearing shorts again, but neither of them seem to mind

I hand Peeta the pills and water, he thanks me, and I watch as he gives them to Katniss with an expression of love. I feel jealous after a second of watching them, realizing that I wish it was me and Dile there. It was so selfish, but I do.

I had talked to Dile, yesterday, and he said a few things to me, but I think I need to be more prepared... Hm...maybe I would ask for more advice...

"Delly?" Peeta and Katniss are looking at me, their expressions are confused and concerned.

"Oh! I'm fine. I was just thinking about how sweet you two look." I say with a smile.

Katniss blushed, but made no effort to move. Peeta invited me to sit down with them, but somehow I felt like a third wheel.

Peeta's POV

Delly perched akwardly on the edge of our bed, and I think it had something to do with the way I was holding Katniss.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Delly askes brightly. So she was uncomfortable.

"actually," I say in my most-convincing voice "I made some cheese buns, and they have to be taken out of the oven, Can you do that for me?"

Delly brightens up, eagerly hopping downstairs to get the pastries. I look down at Katniss, who is staring at the door where Delly left. I could tell her stomach still hurt by the look on her face. I slowly, tentivley, touched my hand to her aching stomach, and stoped, afraid she would push me away. When she didn't, a ran my hand in circles across her abdomen, trying to soothe the pain. She sighed in content, wich I took as a good sign, since her eyes were closed.

After a few minutes, Delly came back up, carrying a plate full of the cheese buns. She smiled brightly as she set them down next to us. I thanked her, taking one of the warm pastries off the plate and feeding bits to Katniss, who now opened her eyes.

I made small talk with Delly, still trying to coax bits of food into Katniss. After a while, the phone rang downstiars, so I left Katniss with Delly, after kissing her lightly on the forehead. (Katniss, not Delly)

Katniss POV

When peeta leaves, theres an empty spot next to me, where it suddenly felt very cold. The pain in my stomach is almost gone, thanks to Peeta. i touched the tip of my finger to my abdomen, remembering the feeling of Peeta's hand.

After a moment, I looked back at Delly. She looks almost worried about something. I guess that it's Dile.

I crawl over to her, sitting crossed-legged on the bedsheets. I was getting more and more restless, just being here in the room all day. It felt nice to talk to someone; to have comany.

"So how'd it go with Dile?"I ask her, another sly smile on my face.

She blushes, then looks down. "I talked to him yeasterday" she begins, a small smile on her face, "and we were talking..." I scooted towards her. Why was she taking so long? Spit it out!

"Did he seem intrested?" I ask her

"Actually, yes!" she said cheerfully. "I'm so happy! Dile is so handsome and smart, and he has such a great personality..." She was smiling broadly now, another dreamy, longing look on her face. I can see why Dile was interested, Delly had lost more weight, her hair was curly again, and she looked alot happier to be alive.

I smiled. "Good. You deserve to be happy"

She looked down again, smile fading a little. "Actually, I was looking for more advise" she says, playing with her hands, "I just get so nervous around him, I don't see how I cannot be flustered" she says

after thinking for a few minutes, i finally have something to say

"Try being his friend first" I tell her "Then, you can be comfortable around him..."

I really didn't know where I was going with this, and Since when was I so helpful? Eh, Delly was one of my only friends, plus I owed her for talking and comforting Peeta in 13 when I couldn't.

"You're right"

I was? "I need to become friends before anyting!" She says triumphently.

Peeta walks in, smiling slightly. He comes and sits on the bed with us, then presses his cool, cinamin-scented hand to my forehead.

"Okay, now you can go into town" he says.

I smile. "Nah, I don't want to anymore"

He chuckles then lays down. Delly and I talk for a while more, then she leaves declaring that 'she won't give up Dile now'. She thanks us, then leaves. I hear the front door click behind her, then I lay down with Peeta. I rest my head on his chest, remembering the time that when I layed my head here, there was no steady heart beat, no life.

This time, his arms encircle me, pulling me to him. I sigh in content.

"Peeta?" I ask

"Hm?" He replies

"I feel better now, but can you still rub my stomach?"

I hear him laugh as he strokes my abdomen, exactly the spot where earlier, there was a sharp pain. He gives me a soft kiss, once on my mouth and then on my cheek, then my collar bone. Then he lays back down.

We fall asleep like that, even though it was only just after eight. the last thing I remember is one last exchange of words;

"Love you"

"Love you too"

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! It was really fun to write. I was planning on just keeping this one chapter, but since I left Delly's story unfinised, i dont know...

Anyway, If I should continue, Plz Review with your opinions!

Thank U for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Delly POV

After the visit to Katniss and Peeta's, I decided to go see Dile. Once I was out of the Victor's Village, I mustered up all of my courage, and ran to his house in the Seam.

After a moment of standing on his doorstep, I knocked on the door. It was a few seconds before one of Dile's little sisters, Tailia, opened the door. She looked about five or six, and had really big grey eyes, exactly like her brother's. She smiled when she saw me, and I smiled back.

"Yow Delwy, wite?" she asks me.

"Yes! It's so nice to meet you! Is you're brother home?" I ask her politley

"Mhm" she says, walking away from the door, into the house. I follow her as we make our way down a short hallway, passing a small kitchen and living room. We get to the dining room, and my stomach does a flip inside me, beause there he is. Dile.

He's sitting at the table, reading something. I hear his mother in the kitchen we had passed, and his father wasn't home.

"Diwe!" Tailia calls, running into the room. Dile looks up from what he was reading, and smiles when he sees me. He scoops up his little sister, while she giggles uncontrolibly is his arms.

"Hey Delly" he says warmly, still smiling at me.

I smile brightly back at him.

"I was just about to go for a walk with Tailia. Wanna come?" He asks me.

"I'd love too!" I say cheerfully, and the next thing I know, Dile, Tailia, and I are walking around the houses to the edge of the district. We talked about school, life, and Tailia.

"Oh, you had a younger brother, didn't you?" he aks softly.

"Yeah, but he..." I trail off, thinnking of my brother, how he didn't manage to escape the flames, along with my parents. tears fil my eyes, and before I know whats happeing, Dile wraps me up in a hug. I'm suprised at first, but before I have time to react, he pulls away.

"I'm sorry" he says sheepishly, "I thought you needed that, with your family and all..."

"Oh! thank you" I reply, just as shyly.

"I know how it is. losing a family member. my dad...he didn't make it either" he tells me quietly.

His face hardens. "It's all becuse of that stupid Katniss." he growls.

Uh-Oh. not good.

...~{~}~...

Katniss's POV

I rub my eyes. I'v been awake for a while now, but I'v made no attempt at getting up. I guess I should, It's getting boring whithout Peeta here; he left to go downstairs a while ago.

I do get up, eventually. I yawn and stretch before heading downstairs. Peeta is in the living room, a sketchpad in his hand.

"Morning" I say, plopping down next to him, resting my legs in his lap.

"Morning? It's one in the afternoon" he says, smiling.

"So? to me, its morning" I say, resting my hands behind my head.

"Glad you're feeling better" he smirks, stroking my ankle.

"Mhm" I say, leaning over to him.

I give him a long kiss. "Yep, so I can do that again" I say when I'm done.

Peeta laughs and pulls his arms around me. "Yup"

We sit in silence after that, I watch Peeta intently as he resumes his skething. It's a picture of a person balancing while walking across a long row of rocks across a narrow stream. When he's finished, he holds it out for me to inspect. I stare at the figure crossing the stram, then realize it's Prim. my eyes fill with tears, and then Peeta's hugging me and whispering soothing things in my ear. When I finally stop crying, there's a knock at the door. I stand up from Peeta, then go and get it. When I open it, I'm suprised to see Delly, standing with a worried expression. I invite her in, and she tells me about Dile.

Uh-Oh

Thank You for reading! I appreciate reviews with suggestions!


	3. EVERY OTHER CHAPTER BESIDES 1 AND 2

**Okay, I'm a lazy person, so instead of seperating the chapters into... well, chapters, they're all bunched together here. Sorry :( ps, this is an old document, so I don't necessarily write this way anymore. Check out my other account, Elliptical!**

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Hello faithful readers~~Okay, sorry it took me so long, been busy lately ^^; enjoy chapter 4!

ps Mystery, I took you're idea and added it in a later chapter :)

LOL I used spellcheck for the first time, and for a speeling suggestion for Katniss, it said Fatness

Oh and ps, Sorry If the story switches from past tense to present tense, I get kinda lazy `bout that...ANYWAY enjoy!

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Katniss POV

"Delly, stop worrying about it" I tell Delly as she paces back and forth across my kitchen

"It doesn't affect me, so you really shouldn't get so worked up" I add

"Yeah, but, I feel bad, spending time with someone who doesnt like my other friends"She says this with slight tears in her eyes, annoying me slightly. Since when did people care what other people thought of me? Oh wait, this is Delly we're talking about.

"Oh! I know!" Delly exclaims, jumping up from where she was sitting. "I can invite Dile over here to show that you're not a bad person!" I want to object, since next to no one thinks that I'm a good person.

I wish i did, because the next thing I know, Delly's out the door, and I can barely see her through the front window.

I sigh and sit back down at the table, wondering If I should go hunting or wait for Peeta to get back from town. He left early this morning, leaving a note saying that he would be back around lunchtime.

I decide to go hunting, leaving a note for Peeta (muahaha give him a taste of his own medicine) saying that I would be out hunting. I grab my game bag off the kitchen table, leaving my father's hunting jacket since it was warm outside. I still keep my bow and arrows in the hollow log outside the fence, even though I can keep them at my house.

I shimmy under the fence, the electric current long gone from the thing. I don't feel like walking all the way to my old meeting place with Gale, nor do I want to go to the lake, which is even farther. So, I walk about a mile and a half through the dense forest, stopping to shoot a wild turkey that was wandering around a thin stream. I stuffed into my bag and continued.

All in all today, I shot 3 rabbits and a handful of squirrels, plus the turkey and a large grosling, which instantly made me think of Rue, when she asked me if she could eat the leg by herself, and of course when I think of Rue I think of Prim, too.

I walked slowly back to the fence, still thinking of Rue and Prim, not even noticing the light on at the house. I step inside, kicking the dirt off my boots as I make my way in. Peeta envelopes me in a 'hello-hug', then leads me inside.

"Happy Early birthday!" he shouts once we're in the living room.

"Peeta, my birthday's not for moths yet" I tell him

"Yeah, but I couldn't wait `till May to give you this" He says, smiling and handing me a large box. I look at him quizzically then tear open the thin wrapping paper.

Inside the box is the most beautiful painting of Peeta's I had ever seen. It's a portrait of me, Prim and Rue, laughing in the meadow, surrounded by beautiful wildflowers and mockingjays flying in the trees behind us. My eyes tear up and I grab Peeta and pull him into a tight hug.

"Thank you" I tell him against his shoulder. "I love it. So much"

"I knew you would. I finished it a few hours ago, I needed more paint to finish it" he replies, still hugging me. I pull away, looking at the painting again. "I was just thinking about them earleir" I murmur, staring at the canvas, my fingers tracing over their young, delicate faces.

"really? Wow, you must be phsycic" he chuckles, and I smile slightly.

"Can we hang it in here?" I ask, and pretty soon it's nailed over the mantle.

~Delly's POV~

My stomach is jumping into my throat as I make my way to Dile's front door. It's been a few days since I had come to Dile's, but now I needed to ask him if he could come to Katniss's.

My hand trembles when I reach up to knock on the door. Why was I so nervous? Maybe he'll reject me. or he won't like Katniss! or I'll make an idiot of myself, or...

Oh, that's why I'm nervous

I stand on the porch patiently after knocking, Watching sparrows flutter by. Eventually Dile's mother answers the door, her face fresh with sorrow over the loss of her husband last year. I want to rush up and hug her, but I have a mission *serious face*

"Hi Mrs. Krel, I'm Delly Cartwright. may I speak to Dile please?" she seems to recognize me after a moment, then smiles. "Of course, honey. I'll go get him for you" she says in a tired voice. A minute later, Dile comes to the door, and my stomach does another flip.

"H-Hi Dile" I say, smiling. "How are you?"

He smiles back. "I'm fine. How `bout you?"

"Oh! I'm great. Actually, can I ask you something?"

"Sure" he says, slightly unsure.

"I was wondering If y-you wanted to come over to the Mellark's with me on Saturday evening for dinner." I knew that, technically, Katniss wasn't a Mellark, but it was a matter of time before she would be.

"Um, yeah, sure." He mutters, still a little unsure of his choice.

"Great! You can meet me at my house and I'll show you the way to their house!" I say, smiling broadly.

This would all work out, I knew it would.

Sorry, I know it's short, but I wanted to leave on a cliffhanger ^-^

I'm making the new chapter now, so by the time you finish reading this it'll problably be updated.

Thanks for reading!

Review plz! It means alot!

chapter 4Chapter 4: preperationz  
See? I TOLD you guys I was working on the next chapter...

Ok so I'm problably going to post chapters every day or every other day. Please review and check out my other stories!

Disclaimer: Still don't own the Hunger Games...

ps. there's mild Haymitch + Effie in this chapter, for those Hayffie fans out there

Peeta's POV

Katniss told me about Delly and Dile after we hung up the painting. She also told me that they were coming over the next Saturday, so we ended up cleaning all Friday long. Note to self: Don't trust Katniss with cleaning chemicals EVER again.

So, finally, we got the whole house clean, which took a lot longer than I thought it would, since the Victor's Village house was so big. But, eventually, the thing was spic and span. katniss and I flopped onto the couch with a sigh.

"Done" She says

"Yep." I agree.

I can see how tired cleaning all day made her, since her eyelids are drooping. I grin at her, making her scowl in response, but instead of saying anything, I scoop her up, cradling her thin body in my arms, and carefully make my way up the stairs to our room. I breathe in, the room still having the lemon-scent of alchaholic cleaners we used. I walk over to the bed, and I almost feel guilty about moving the sheets aside, Katniss spent nearly a half an our trying to get the blankets just right.

I guess sleep is more important right now, though, so I pull back the comforter, setting Katniss down. I pull the comforter up to her chin, startling myself when I see she's still awake. She smiles at the way I jumped, but she's quickly falling asleep.

"Stay with me" she murmurs, still smiling slightly, no doubt remembering the last time she said that.

"Always" I whisper back, just like the time before.

she's asleep, and before I go downstairs again, I gently kiss her forehead and as quietly as possible, go downstairs. We got most of the cleaning done, but there's still a few things left, like the dishes, but that can wait for tomarrow.

As much as I didn't want to leave Katniss, I did, walking across the lawn to Haymitch's house.

I push through the door, not bothering to knock, since I know he won't answer, and am shocked at what I see. I knew Hayzell, Gale's mother, cleaned his house now, but I never thought he would keep it clean.

Maybe he was sober.

I walk over to the kitchen, Where Haymitch usually passes out. Hm, he's not there.

Not in his bedroom either.

Or the kitchen.

When I leave the kitchen, I hear giggling coming from the den. Giggling? Haymitch dosen't giggle. I step through the hall, then my eyes widen.

Haymitch was actually smiling.

and sober.

with Effie

They finally see me there, then jump apart from one another.

Haymitch clears his throat. "What do you want, kid?"

I could've sworn he was blushing. I didn't say anything about it, though.

"Just came to check on you" I say, smiling, "Haven't heard from you in almost a week, but now I can see why-"

"Get out'a here, boy!" Haymitch shouts, and I give a knowing look to Effie, who is definitly blushing.

"Night-Night love birds!" I call as I dodge the bottle Haymitch throws at me as I leave.

I chuckle to myslef as I make my way back to Katniss's. Eh, it's my house too, I guess.

I make my way up the stairs, trying to be silent so I don't wake up Katniss.

She's is still asleep when I climb into bed with her, but she does curl up against me. I sigh contently into her hair. this is what I've always wanted; since I was 5 years old. For Katniss to know I love her, and for her to love me back

In the morning, I wait for her to wake up. Shes facing me, and It's really nice to see her face so peaceful, relaxed of scowls and glares. Eventually she does wake up, and she smiles at me through sleepy eyes.

"Morning" she yawns

"Ditto" I reply, smiling

"Where were you last night?" She asks, rubbing her eyes.

"I went to see Haymitch, since we haven't talked to him in a week," I grin, "You'll never guess what I saw"

"What?" she askes, while I brush hair away from her face.

"Well, first he was sober"

"Okaaayy"

"...And his house was clean..."

"continue."

"Effie was there"

her eyes widen at this, and she dosen't make a comment

"And they were laughing. Happily. together"

She gives me a wary look

"You sure it was Effie and Haymitch?"

"Positive"

She laughs, really laughs, for the first time in ages.

"Whats so funny?"

"What isn't funny? They hated each other up until recently, and They're perfect for each other! Plus, it's funny to think about them that way...together..."

"Right" I say, huggging her.

"But didn't you see it coming? Or are we the only people in the world allowed to love?" Her reply is another scowl, which makes my grin wider.

"Come on, we need to get ready for tonight" I say, and she nods.

Woohoo! next chapter is THE MOMENT WE'VE ALLL BEEN WAITING FOOORRRR

;P lol sorry...a little hyper...

ok, so Mystery person, I'lll use your idea in an upcoming chapter, I promise.

anyhoo, click the review button !

Ps. Next chapter will problably be added today, so stay logged on to read!

Thank U 4 reading!

Chapter 5: The dinner  
Sorry It took so long, the original copy got deleted, so I had to rewrite it. Thank You guys for reading it up till here! REVIEW

Disclaaimer: Don't own HG

Katniss POV

The whole morning is spent cooking for tonight and last-minute cleaning. It seems weird to be making a huge deal out of a few people coming over for dinner, but after months of solitary confinement after killing the president, It is a big deal.

Dinner iis going to be the wild turkey I shot yesterday, bread rolls, and beef stew. We-or should I say Peeta, since I can't cook whatsoever-make an effort for the whole thing to be perfect. While Peeta cooks, I sit on the counter watching him. He takes on that expression that he has while painting, or when he's giving a speech, or in district 11 when he pushed those peacekeepers away on the victory tour. I don't realize that I'm staring at him until he calls my name and pats my shoulder.

"Kaaatniss...Katniss, you okay?" He asks

I jump a little, and he grins at me.

"Just making sure" he says, flickng the end of my braid. I glare at him, making him chuckle softly.

I continue glaring at him, and he makes a guilty-puppy face.

"I was just kidding" he coos.

I laugh at his stupid expression and he meets me for a soft kiss.

"Oh, and lover boy thought I was the hopless romantic?" Peeta and I jump apart, blushing and scowling at Haymitch standing in the doorway.

"Shut up, Haymitch" say, hopping off the counter, Peeta goes back to stirring the stew.

"Like it's a big deal" Haymitch adds, sarcastically, "The whole country's seen you two make out-"

"Haymitch!" I interrupt, still glaring at him

"is that any way to treat your mentor who saved your butt a billion times..."

I sigh. I'm guesing he ran out of liquor a while ago, because If he's sober enough, he'll start on the sarcastic comments, then things just get worse than that, with the pranks and sneaking into our house in the middle of the night, et cetera, et cetera.

Haymitch stares at us for a while in silence, then randomly starts laughing at a completly random time.

"We should problably get ready for tonight" Peeta says quietly.

"Here" I say to Haymitch, handing him a bottle of wine that came with the house.

"Aw, thanks sweetheart" he slurs, walking outside.

I sigh in relief. finally he's gone.

Peeta smiles at me, and holding my hand we go upstairs to get ready.

~.~.~45 minutes laterrrrr~.~.~

Peeta comes downstairs, wearing a long sleeved grey dress shirt, and black pants.

"Well you look nice" he smirks (which he usually never does) as he takes in my long sleeved black t-shirt and tan knee-length khaki shorts, my hair loose.

"Well excuse me if I don't want to gross everyone out with skin grafts and burn scars"

Peeta laughs before gathering me up to him, kissing my cheek.

"Just kidding" he murmurs into my ear, "You're perfect and pretty"

I smile. "Thanks. you too."

He laughs again before releasing me when the doorbell rings. I sit on the couch while peeta answers the door, greeting everyone.

They step inside; Delly, Dile, and some girl I don't know.

"Hi Peeta! Hi Katniss!" Delly says cheerfully "Peeta, Katniss, this is Dile and Kaira. "

Kaira has long aburn hair, wide, blue eyes, a cute, delicate figure, perfect skin, and freckles across her rosy cheeks. She's wearing a low-cut black tank top and a long white skirt that brushes the tops of her gold-colored sandals.

I don't like her already

"Peeta, you look nice!" Delly gushes, making Peeta smile.

"Likewise. You too, Dile, Kaira."

They exchange a few more comments, and Peeta invites them in.

Dile's face hardens when he sees me.

.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||.||

During dinner, I notice that Kaira keeps making these faces at Peeta, which only adds more reasons why I don't like her. Meanwhile, Delly keeps trying to tell Dile all my "wonderful qualities"

He dosent seem to pay attention to her, only eating and occasionally giving me dirty looks.

"You killed my dad" he says suddenly, as Peeta serves the stew.

I choke on the bread I was eating.

"No, I didn't" I say quietly, the whole dinner table silent. "The Capitol did."

He sighs.

"Look," I say, "I know what it's like to lose a father. and a sister, for that matter"

"It's easy to want to blame someone for it. I blamed my mother for years."

He's looking at the table now, silent.

"You can't blame me. It's the Capitol's fault. " I say.

He looks up at me wistfully, then smiles slightly. "Okay, you get points for that little speech. Still don't trust you though, since you're an exprienced killer"

I smile a little while Peeta and Kaira laugh. Delly giggles a little.

The rest of the dinner goes smoothely, It's when we're in the living room when things get tense again.

Kaira sits next to Peeta, a bit close for my taste, and she keeps whispering things into his ear. I guess I'm glaring at them, becuase Dile smirks at me. "Jealous much?"

I glare at him, "No! why would I be?"

Delly giggles from next to him, and I sigh (for the billionth time that day)

"Kaira," I say, "What district did you come from?"

She looks at me like I had just interrupted the most important conversation in the world.

"Four" she says, then continues her conversation. Dile laughs. "She's my cousin's friend. She's visiting for the week."

Peeta looks rather unomfortable at her closeness, which gives me a sense of triumpth.

The conversation we had lasted until about 10, then Dile and Kaira had to go home

"Curfew" he explains as they leave. "We had fun, thanks. Bye Delly; see you tomarrow!" He gives her a warm smile before leaving. "Byeee Peeta!" Kaira says flirtily as the door closes.

I flop on the couch. Curfew? I can't imagine having a family that makes me come home at a certain time. My life had always been about finding food, then it was completly about being in love with Peeta, then it was about missing Peeta, then it was getting over the grief of losing Prim, etc.

Delly looks very exited. "That went so well!" she squeaks

"Dile likes you, I promise" she says crossing her heart. She glances at the clock on the wall.

"Oh! I should be getting home too. Bye you guys! thank you!" She says hurridly as she leaves. Then It's just Peeta and me again, and I let him stroke my hair, my head in his lap.

"That went well" he says, smiling a little

"What? The dinner or kaira flirting with you?" I ask flatly

He laughs. "She wasn't flirting. she was...being friendly."

I raise an eyebrow at him. 'friendly'? we both knew that was a lie.

"Okay, okay, so maybe she was a little...forward, but thats no reason for you to be jealous" he tells me, smiling mischeviousley.

"I was not!" I retort.

"Yeah, sure, Katniss. Whatever you say" he's still smiling, so I whack him with a pillow.

"Ow!" he says.

"Come on, lover boy. It's bedtime" I say, getting up.

"Oh, so now I'm your lover-boy" he grins as he follows me up the stairs to my room.

"You were always lover boy" I smile, once we were under the covers.

"Touche"

I curl up against him, relieved that Kaira was gone.

Peeta has a weakness for beautiful things, you know.

I'm fresh out of ideas, so PLEASE REVIEW WITH IDEAS! ps if i dont post a chapter in a while, that problaly means I got my laptop taken away `caus I didn't get an A in math...oh well...

so anyway, review! I ran out of ideas, NOOOOO

Chapter 6: Delly drops by  
Hi! Thank you guys for all the reviews! Rachel1995, Thank you for the idea, but I don't know how Katniss/Peeta would act drunk...maybe puke all night...but I like the Harvest Festival Idea! Oops, the story takes place in early spring...oh well Fast Forward to the Future! Okay, now we're in autum, and...yeah. just read the story. ps the temperatures in farenheiht, I'm only 12 and I don't feel like converting it to Celcius.

Disclaimer: Dont own Hunger Games, I do own Kaira and Dile, though ;P

Peeta's POV

Summer came and went in the blink of an eye. It was a good summer, though. Katniss brought down four deer, which I think is a record for her, Johanna came to visit us a few times, We caught Haymitch and Effie together again, we visited Annie and Finn, we celebrated Prim's birthday, and we cried together afterwards, Delly and Dile got together, Kaira went back to District Four (somehow making Katniss very relieved), and we visited Katniss's mother in District 8.

All in all, It was a pretty good summer.

Now, it's autum. The air is crisp and cool, a breeze constantly blowing throughout the District. katniss had fun when we decorated the house for the Harvest Festival, laughing when we were inside, drinknig hot chocolate afterwards.

Today, It's especially icy outside. the thermometer says it's almost 30 degrees outside, and plus, the bakery's closed today, so there's no reason to go outside.

Katniss wobbles down the stairs, yawning loudly.

"Morning 'sunshine'" I smile at Katniss, who is definitly not a morning person.

She scowls at me as she sits at the dining room table.

"Shut up" she mutters, as she buries her face in her arms

"Is that the way you thank the love of your life for making breakfast?" I say, sliding a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her.

''yep" She replies happily, digging in.

I laugh and sit across from her, eating my own breakfast.

"So, what're we doing today in thirty-degree weather?" I ask

"Stay in bed and sleep" she says tiredly, with a hint of humor.

"Okay. I can live with that" I smile at her

After breakfast, we do go back to bed, still wearing pajamas. I get the thick, winter blankets out of the linen closet, tossing them onto the bed as Katniss arranges them to be comfortable.

Pretty soon we're both under the covers, nodding off from the warmth of the blankets and the exgaustion of doing nothing.

it's about noon when the doorbell rings, and since I'm still half-asleep, Katniss goes to get it.

I hear shuffling and voices downstairs, so I stand up, dizzy for a second, before walking down the hall and down the stairs.

When I get down into the entry way, there's the happy couple, standing with their arms entwined, smiling. Katniss is forcing a smile back, and I can see she really just wants to go back to sleep.

"Hi, Delly" she says, leading the two figures into the living room. I stand in the doorway of the stairs, waiting for Katniss to akgnowlege me.

She does, eventually, and has me stall our company as she goes to get ready.

"Hey, Delly, Dile" I say, smiling my best casual/camera smile

"What brings you two here?" I ask, really just wanting them to leave so I can go back to sleep.

"Oh! Yeah, um...sorry for just dropping in, but we were wondering what you two were plannig on doing for the harvest festival?" She asks, almost sheepishly.

Actually, I hadn't thought of what we were doing for the festival.

Johanna and Beete sometimes dropped in, and we'd drag Haymitch over for the Festival dinner, but nothing came to mind for this year.

"Actually, I don't know" I tell them sincerely. Delly looks delighted

"We were wondering if you'd like to come to a party we were having on the festival eve?"

I smiled. Of course she had to go and invite us. "Sure, let me go ask Katniss"

Three hours later, we were back in our soft, fluffy bed, looking forward to the party Delly had invited us to. Katniss had agreed to going, after persuading her over and over how much fun it would be, she finally agreed. She wasn't one for parties, but She would eventually agree to going to one, especially if Delly had planned it. she really was Katniss's only good friend right now, except for me. And maybe Johanna.

"Glad that's over" She says against my chest

I smile and stroke her back, remembering how hostile she seemed earlier.

"It'll be fun. I promise" I murmur back.

"It better be. Or I'm killing you"

It would have been funnier if I knew she wasn't serious

Sorry for lack of updates. I havent gotten my computer taken away (yet!)

Ive been studying for like 5 tests this week, so I havent been on that often

OH and Ik the later parts of this chapter I kinda wrote differently, Ive been reading Sweep (again) so K & P kinda sound like Hunter and Morgan lol

Sorry da chapters kinda short ^^;

please review and keep reading!

Chapter 7: Harvest Festival part 1  
Thank you for all the reviews! PS if I were to add Gale in this chapter, he would've just been there for fluff and to tease K/P. and possibly to become a love interest for Kaira..hmmm...maybe I will add him...Oh and I will add more fluff this chapter ;)

Anyhoo, here's chapter 7!

Disclaimer: I_don't_own_the_Hunger_Games

Katniss's POV

The Harvest Festival dinner is tonight. It's traditional, and It used to be that you only had the dinner if you could afford it. Now, the capitol sends money to each district for food and decorations for the celebration.

We were invited to a few fancy dinners in the Capitol, but we declined, since they were being thrown in President Snow's mansion, where on the steps...Prim died...

So we're not going to those parties.

We instead decided to have a dinner of our own, then the following night, on the actual "Harvest day" we would go to Delly's party. We invited Johanna, Haymitch, Effie, Gale (not looking forward to see him...), Delly and my mother.

Delly and Dile can't come, since their own families have dinners planned. My mother can't come either, apparently she still can't face the district where her family died.

Gale hasn't replied yet. So we don't know if he's coming or not. It wasn't my idea to ask him in the first place, that was all Peeta. He said that we 'need to forgive each other and put the past behind us since we don't even know the truth'. I know, though. Gale is the person who won't ever forgive. He's the one who killed my sister.

Peeta helps me clean the house again, but since it's mostly neat, there isn't much to do. We hang multi-colored leaf wreaths on the walls, pumpkins in the door. other decorations cover the walls, so we're completely ready for tonight's party.

It's noon, and since the guests are coming at around seven, Peeta and I go to take a nap.

The days seem to get cooler and cooler, so I curl up against Peeta, feel his arms come up around me. He kisses my head, and I snuggle closer to him, since my body isn't generating enough heat.

"You ready to see everyone?" He asks me

I smile. "Yeah. It's been what, four months?"

"Mhm" He murmurs.

I drift off soon after that, and I remember one dream;

I'm walking through the woods with Haymitch, and I'm ready to ditch him since I hadn't a caught a single thing, because of Haymitch's constant blabbing and rude comments. It's a long time that we're walking, then we meet with Effie, and suddenly, we're at a wedding, with Effie wearing a long, poufy, rainbow-colored dress with a long goose head as a hat. I stare down to look at the altar, and there stands Beete. wait, what? Beete? pretty soon Haymith is dancing and then things get fuzzy as I drift back into conciousness.

I wake up with a start. That was by far the strangest dream I'd had in a while.

I glance at the wall clock. It's already four. I turn over gently, and sighing with relief when I see Peeta is still asleep. I shouldn't wake him up for a dumb dream like that. I lay my head down in the crook of his neck, and slowly drift back to sleep.

When Peeta wakes me, I'm relieved. No more weird dreams. I'm also not complaining about the way he woke me; kisses all over my face and head. I smile with my eyes closed, and he plants one kiss on my mouth.

Now, It's almost seven, the food's almost done (this time, Greasy Sae and her granddaughter are helping us. They need extra money for a trip to district 13. yuck; who would want to go there?)

Greasy Sae sets the turkey on the stove, ready to be placed on the table, and Peeta does so. I'm in charge of setting th table, each place having a plate, a glass, a set of utensils, etc. It would have gone a lot faster if Peeta didn't keep stealing kisses when he walked past me.

*&*&*&*&*&*2 hours later*&*&&*&*&*&*&*

Peeta is paying Greasy Sae, and I smile, noticing that it's a lot more than we promised to give them. She thanks us and leaves, her granddaughter skipping after her.

Peeta comes and sits next to me on the couch, and I lean against him, breathing in his scent of cleanliness and cinnamon, his damp hair on my shoulder. We sit like that for a while, and I wonder If Peeta's fallen asleep until the doorbell rings and he gets up to answer it.

In the doorway is Johanna; the prettiest I've ever seen her. Her spiky hair has gown out and now hangs just past her chin, her ears are pierced three times (each) and she wears a blue-velvet dress like the one she complimented Cinna on; the one I wore in district Two.

She smirks when she sees me. "Well don't you look happy?" She asks

I scowl at her, making her smirk widen. Effie arrives next, a poofy wig still covering her hair, but with much less make-up than usual. And her clothes arent as flashy (key word: as flashy)

She greets us in her crisp Capitol accent, complimenting how nice I look in my dress, how handsome Peeta looks.

We sit and chat together until there's another knock at the door. My stomach twists and I pray that It's not Gale.

It's not.

Haymitch appears, sober (for the most part) as he stumbles in and plops onto the couch next to Peeta.

"Hey sweetheart" he mutters.

He begins a conversation with Effie involving geese. Peeta gives me a knowing look, gestering to the lovebirds now sitting next to each other. I laugh.

There's another knock at the door.

Uh Oh. This time I know It's Gale.

I know this chapter is short too, I think it needed a cliffhanger ^^;

Thank You all for reviweing! ps, i know someone was wondering what my other stories about, its a thing about a post-apocolyptic world ~nothing 2 do w/ fanfiction.~

Review w/ ideas please! :)

Chapter 8: Harvest Festival part 2  
Sorry for teh lack of updates ^^; Im gettin kinda lazy `bout that. lack of inspiration, i say! ... thank u for continuing to read anyway! ok, since everyone hates Gale [poor Gale] I guess I'll kick him outa the story. [sorry gale!]

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games (I thought we established this?)

so anyway heres chap 8...its chap 8 right? ok i think so.

Katniss POV

I exhale loudly with relief when I see it's not him. Wait, if it's not Gale, who is it? I crane my neck to see some guy who resembles Johanna in some way. I guess she knows him, too, because she gets up and hugs him.

"Hey Dainne" she says, smiling.

"Hi"

"Guys," she says, turning towards everyone, "This is Dainne. He's my cousin"

Everyone waves at him.

"Dainne, thats Haymitch, Effie, Katniss and Peeta."

Dainne waves at us. He follows Johanna and sits next to her on the couch, across from where Peeta and I sit. I keep catching him staring at me, but not in the sweet way Peeta used to, he's kind of creepy about it. I chose to ignore it and focus on the conversation in which Effie is telling a story about how fast Finn-Finnick and Annie's son- could swim. I remember that she traveled from district to district, often visiting the other victors.

Peeta glances at the clock. "Lets get the food" he whispers in my ear, causing goose-flesh to run up my arms. I nod. We excuse ourselves and head to the kitchen. Peeta takes the turkey out of the oven, beginning to carve it. I sit on the counter cross-legged, and somehow I hope Effie doesn't comes in and see me, since I am at the peak of bad manners, especially since I'm wearing a dress. I'm also helping prepare dinner, mixing the last of the brown sugar into the yams.

We take the food we were preparing (and a bunch of other delicacies) to the table, and Peeta continues from where we left off earlier, kissing me every time we pass each other. I playfully swat him away every time, but only after returning the kiss.

When everything set out on the table,(except for dessert) I call everyone to eat. "Finally," Johanna retorts, "I was wondering what you two were doing in here" She follows this with an eyebrow raise suggestively. On instinct I scowl at her, making her laugh.

Everyone sits at the table, serving food and continuing their converastion from earlier. I laugh and talk along with everybody else, secretly aching inside becuase this is another year that Prim doesnt get to enjoy a holiday. Another day that she dosen't get to live her life. Oh. thats why I don't want to see Gale. It's his fault.

I look up from the mashed potatoes I had played with to see Dainne staring at me again. He doesnt look away when he sees me looking back at him. I glance over to where Peeta is sitting tensely, watching Dainne watch me. If Peeta's nervous about this guy, then I probably should be, too. I glare at him, then turn back to Haymitch laughing with Johanna.

Everyone finishes the main course, and Peeta and I clean up the plates and leave them in the kitchen. Well, I leave them in the kitchen, Peeta washes his.

I pull out the pie and Peeta gets the plates. Before I leave the kitchen, Peeta grabs my upper arm and says quietly, "Look out for that Dainne guy" he says quietly. I'm about to agree, to say that he's right, but I get a mischievous idea. This is my chance to make Peeta jealous, when It's usually the other way around.

"Why?" I ask innocently, "He seems nice"

Peeta looks taken aback. "nice? "

I smile like I just caught on to his first question."Peeta, are you jealous of Dainne?"

He blushes slightly. "N-No! He looks at you creepy, thats all!"

"Riiiight. It's okay, Peeta. I get it." I pat his cheek and step into the dining room, carrying the pie, leaving Peeta flustered.

Everyone serves themselves pie, and I make an effort to start a conversation with Dainne, pretending to listen to his job in district seven. Apparently, he work near the lumber loading dock, where the cut-down trees float down the river where he takes them out and loads them onto a machine to be cut.

I smile and nod, but not really paying attention to his story, but sneaking glances at Peeta, who's fuming in the corner of my eye.

After dessert, we all go back to the den, sipping tea in the chilly evening. Our guests stay until about midnight, but then have to leave. Dainne winks at me as the door closes behind him, making me shudder and triggering my gag reflex. (luckily, it doesn't show). Johanna pulls him out the door, muttering something like, "Come on, Casanova, shes got a boyfriend."

The rest of the guests leave with hugs and kisses brushed on cheeks, Effie and Haymitch hugging for a long time before leaving; Haymitch to his house, Effie to the train station. They stay like that until Peeta clears his throat, they break away. My eyes widen, since they look like they're going to kiss, but Effie just smile and leaves. Haymitch leaves a second later.

Peeta and I silently climb up the stairs to my room, and since we're both tired from dinner, I don't bother turning on the lights or changing in the bathroom. I just hope it's too dark for Peeta to notice.

I climb into bed after Peeta, nuzzling his neck and curling up to him once we're comfortable. He sighs into my hair, making me snuggle closer.

"Did you really think that Dainne was nice?" he asks

I smirk. "Have you seen him?"

"A simple yes or no, please"

"He was a total creep!"

"I'll take that as a 'no' "

I laugh and reach up to kiss him, feeling him smile in the kiss.

He strokes my side absently until we fall asleep.

awww the ends so cute :3

I need ideas for the next chapter peoplez! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! thank u for reading!

(more than once if u like :)

Chapter 9: Delly's party part 1  
You peoplez don't get how hard it is to come up with ideas! :P oh well. I'll think of some instead of doin hw :D Hooray for bad grades! I luvs ur guys' reviews! dey makes me feel so happeh

I appologive for the punctuation and grammar mistakes in da last chapter...I didn't re-read through it...yeah...

So anyhoo, here's chapter 9!

Disclaimer: I dO nOt oWn tHe HuNgEr GaMeS (mind control!)

Peeta's Pov

I think I woke up at least three times last night, each time with another disturbing dream; two of wich involved losing Katniss. But now that the sun has risen and I can clearly see her sleeping face, I'm okay.

I guess I was staring at her becuse I didn't notice she was awake until she started shaking my shoulder. "Peeta, are you okay? You're not having a flashback, are you?" When my brain registered that she was trying to snap me out of my trance, I shook my head quickly. "No, just thinking."

She sighs with relief at this. "Good. I thought we were over that stage."

I smile and kiss her nose. "We are"

She snuggles against me, and I'm wondering why she hasn't gotten up to go hunting yet when I look out the window. Sheets of rain are pouring down, the outside world a dull, almost black grey color. Most people would be deppresed at this type of weather, but not me. Well, usually I would be, but today it means I get Katniss all to myself. I sigh in contemt and fall back onto the pillows, pulling Katniss closer. I tuck her loose hair back behind her ears.

"what do you want to do today?" I ask her.

"Absolutley nothing" she murmurs against my collar bone.

"You can't to nothing. Doing nothing is doing something."

"Okay, then I want to do someting."

"What?"

"Nothing."

I laugh and roll onto my back, pulling her onto my stomach. Buttercup choses to join us then, hopping on the bed and walking over, meowing hoarsley. I pet his cold, wet head. He must've been outside, becuase now he's dripping on the blankets. Katniss shoves him away, muttering something about drowing him. Buttercup jumps off the couch, yowling as he leaves the room. I glance out the window, wondering if we can make it to Delly's tonight.

Katniss, who seems like she read my thoughts, answers my question. "It's fine. It's just a little rain, right?"

"Mhm" I reply softly, lying back pn the bed. From the nightmares, I feel like I'm more tired than usual. "Really, what do you want to do today?" I ask her, burying my head in the crook of her neck. My voice sounds muffled underneath her hair.

"Bake something for Delly."

I agree with her, but right now I'm too comfortable to get up, let alone bake. "Later," I murmur, still under her hair. "Mhm" is her reply.

We do end up baking, but a few hours before the party. Really, the entire day was spent in our room, sleeping or talking (and kissing). An hour before the party, when the bread we (I) baked was in a insulated bag, ready to go. I'm in the room, getting dressed. Katniss is in the shower.

I drum my fingers along the newly-made bed, smiling when I remember earlier how frusturted Katniss got when she saw how easy it was for me to make it perfect when it took her almost twenty minutes to make it when we were cleaning the house in the beginnig of summer.

The bathroom door opens, Katniss stands in the steam wrapped in a robe, her long hair still dripping down her back. "Whats funny?" She asks me, noticing my smile. "Nothing" I reply casually, pulling her to me. She sits in my lap, but I can tell she wants to get up. "Peeta, let go" she says, trying to stand. Her voice says otherwise.

"No" I say like a small child, wrapping my arms tighter around her waist. I guess I was right about her not really wanting to leave becuase she gives up,leaning her still-dripping head on my shoulder, her eyes closed. Her hair smells fresh and clean, and has a slight minty scent. Eventually I do let her go, since we have to get ready.

*&*&*&*&*&*&_ 30 minutes later_&*&*&*&*&*&*

The rain seems much heavier when you're the one actually outside. Katniss and I huddle under a thin umbrella through the streets of district 12, yet still arriving at Delly's soaked. She opens the door with shock as she takes in our appearences.

"Come in, come in!" She ushers us inside the warmth of her house. It looks like we're one of the first ones here, aside from Dile and a few others we don't know. I take my and Katniss's coat to the hanger in the entry way. Katniss takes my hand and I lead her to where Delly and Dile are standing with three other people, who might've come here from Thirteen.

"Oh!" Delly exclaimes. "Katniss, Peeta, this is Kiana, Santerrie, and Fragnet" she says, pointing to each personm according to their names. They smile politley and wave, but It's clear they don't have any intrest in talking to us, like Gloss and Cashmere in training. Although, Kiana, who seems younger than us, her eyes widen when she recoidnizes Katniss. she actually starts jumping up and down, then pelts her with a million questions. Katniss looks taken aback by her intrest, making me laugh.

She glares at me, while Kiana continues to ask her questions. Suddenly, the door slams open, and another soaking-wet figure enters the room. Who is that?

Please Read author's note:

Gasp! who is the person? honestly, I don't even know myself, so review with your opinions on wo it should be!

Ok, next chapter is up when I get at least 3 reviews saying who it should be!

I'm probalbly gonna start another story right now, so look for it later!

REVIEW PLZ!

Chapter 10: Party part 2 of 3  
Okay, Sorry I haven't been posting chapters lately, I don't know what's going to happen next. Plus I've been busy making other one shots :P I like oneshots better... I took the votes on who the person should be. Sorry if it's not who u picked!  
Anyway, heres chapter 10 :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games...Or fruits basket...or Sweep...*sniff*

Chaptah 10 :D  
Katniss's POV

I squint at the door, waiting for the person to come in. Eventually, they do. The room is silent, but Kaina and the others are talking quietly in the kitchen.

Gale.

I feel exitement, dread, confusion, and anger. Gale? What's he doing here? I scowl at him, although he can't see me, he's closing the door behind him. Finally, Delly speaks up. "Gale! It's so good to see you!" She smiles at him, and he smiles back. "Good to see you too, Delly." He turns back to me, still smiling slightly.

"Hey, Catnip" he says

"Hi." I mutter, barely audible

"Peeta invited me" he tells me. I turn around to glare at Peeta, who's holding up his hands in defense. "I didn't know he'd show up!" He says. Before I know what's going on, Gale sweeps me up in a hug. "I missed you" he whispers. He still smells like Gale-a mixture of pine and coal, but something that's just him. His scent is familiar, but I still like Peeta's better.  
He pulls back, still holding me by my shoulders. "I really did. Miss you, I mean."

I'm still frowning at him when I pull away. Him and Peeta greet each other, and I can see that Peeta is somewhat tense when he sits next to me on the couch. After that, Delly and Gale make conversation, about life here in Twelve, Gale's in Two. More guests arrive, Still none of which I know. Gale pulls a picture out of his pocket and shows it to us. "Here's my wife, Adaile, and Clane...my son." My eyes widened. He was already married? That was a bit fast. It's only been four years; Gale didn't seem like one to settle down very easily. He must really love her.  
Well, good for him. At least one of us is happy.  
Peeta congradualtes Gale on his marrige, and he and Delly start on another conversation about children. It isn't until Delly waves her hand in front of my face that I realize I had been brought into this conversation. "Huh?" i ask intellegently.  
"I asked, do you think that you and Peeta are going to have children soon?"

I can already feel my blush, and a quick glance at Peeta tells me he's feeling the same. "No." I mutter. Gale snickers quietly behind me. I scowl at him again. Kiana calls us from the kitchen, or rather, calls me. "Katniss! Sean dosen't believe you can shoot three things at once!" Sean, one of the people who came in after Gale, is tall and lanky, with pale, corkscrew curls and bright orange eyes. Definitly from the Capitol. I raise my eyebrow at him. "You don't?" I ask him, a challenge in my voice. usually I don't brag, but I rarely get the chance to boast my abilities to soemone other than a gamemaker or someone from the districts.

Sean's eyes widen, but he still shakes his head, No. I don't have my bow here with me now, obviousley, but I still wanted to prove to this unk who's boss. "Another time," I say, almost menacingly, "We'll see." Kiana bursts out laughing, and Sean looks like he might wet his pants. Gale also chuckles behind me, and I turn to look at him. "Same old Katniss" he tells Peeta, who laughs.

Delly comes back into the room, and I didn't even notice she left. "Do you guys want to play a game?" She asks. "How about spin the bottle? Or truth or dare?" She's grinning in a way that i think Is supposed to be mischevious.  
Who knows how this will turn out.

Sorry, I know it's short, but I couldn't think of anything else to write.

Okay, now it's up to you, truth/dare, or spin the bottle?  
Oh, and if you pick T/D, add some dares in your reviews!

I'll get the next chapter up when I get enough reviews! (hopefuly will be soon) :)

Chapter 11: The party, part 3 of 3  
Hi! So so so so so sorry for lack of updates :(( Yeesh I'm lazy.  
Okay, so everyone wanted truth or dare, so ya. That's what I did :)  
Btw, I'm not really good at comedy, I usually do fluff, so sorry if it sucks. Anyhoo, heres chapter 11  
(wow 11 chapters already?) Oh and, I used your ideas! (thank u for reviewing so much!)

Oh and ps, for some reason in this story Delly has a pool in her backyard :D

Disclaimer: Hg does not belong to me :(  
Peet's POV :)

"Truth or dare," Dile says, coming out of the kitchen.

Delly smile again, this time filled with delight. "I'll go get a bottle!" She says, dissappearing into the hallway. Sean comes over, followed by all the other guests at the party. Most of them are talking to each other, a few are already drinking. Delly reappears with a bottle a few minutes later, and beckons for us to sit in a circle on the wide living room floor. We do so, and she sets the bottle down in the middle. She gestures for Kiana to start.

The dares

She grins evilly, then spins the glass bottle, and we wait in anticipation as it spins, gradually becoming slower until it lands on...  
Katniss.  
I feel my stomach do a swan dive. Kiana was a huge fan of the 'Star-crossed lover' bit, so this can't be good. Katniss seems to sense this too, because she looks warily at the younger girl.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

Kiana beams and says, "I dare you to kiss Peeta every time someone says, 'what!'" Around the circle there are a few "OOhh"'s and a bit of laughter. Katniss blushes and scowls at Kiana, but I know she will do the dare, She wasn't one to back out of a challenge, even if that challenge happens to be kissing me.

"Fine" she mutters, and Kiana (purposely, i think,) replies with a "What?" and she is forced to kiss me, but she does so on my cheek. "No lips?" someone laughs. Katniss scowls and sit back down, three people away from me, and spins the glass bottle. This time it lands on Delly. Katniss grins misheviousley, and it's Delly's turn to look hesitant. "Truth or Dare?" she asks. Delly reluctantly answers, "Dare...?"

"I dare you...to go skinny dipping. With Dile." Delly turns bright red. "W-What?" She stutters. Katniss glares at her and gives me a quick peck on my cheek again.

"Well, go on" she says

Delly reluctantly stands, Dile, who is also blushing, follows her outside, where they take their clothes off and jump in the water, although we can't see them from in here. Almost everybody laughs when they come in few minutes later, soaking wet and clothes rumpled. They sit down and Delly, who still is blushing lightly. She spins the bottle, and the end pointing to Sean. He looks relaxed, bored even. He clearly had no problem with Delly, with whatever dare she came up with. "Dare" he says lightly, not even bothering to wait for her question. Delly stops and thinks for a moment, then smiles.

"I dare you to lick Gale's face! No, wait, put whip cream on his face and lick it all off!"

Now, everyone's laughing histerically, especially from the looks on their faces. Gale is discusted, and partially frightened, Sean is shocked mixed with the "What the hell?" expression. Just the looks on their faces send me laughing hystericlly again.

"What? Why!?" Gale is barely heard over the shouts and laughs and the sound of someone going to get the whipped cream-never before seen in District Twelve until after the war. No one notices that he says '\/\/hat' so luckily I don't have to live thorugh another one of Katniss's pathetic kisses.

Gale glares at Delly as someone sprays the light, fluffy cream across his face. Sean dosen't budge, and it takes a few people to finally shove him over to Gale. His face is a mixture of discust, cringing, and pure 'i hate this. so much'. Sean quickly gets the whip cream off his face, then goes to the bathroom to wash out his mouth. Gale goes to the kitchen to wash Sean's saliva off his skin.

I glance over to Katniss, who is genuinly laughing, leaning on Delly, who is sitting next to her. The sight makes me smile.  
When Sean comes back out, he has a stone-cold expression. He spins the bottle, and it quickly lands on Kiana. She is giddy (possibly from the three cupcakes she wolfed down a little while ago) and smiles broadly and says, "Truth" when Sean asks. Around the circle there are a few 'boos', but Sean seems unaffected.

"Okay, If you had to make out with anyone here, who would it be?" There are a few 'ooh's when Kiana turns red.

She murmurs something incoherent, and at least three people ask, "What?" leading to another three pathetic kisses from Katniss.

"Speak up, Kiana!"

"P-Peeta" she mutters, and I can feel my face go hot. More laughter.

The game goes on, more and more weird dares; stealing Haymitch's knife, stripping to their underwear,(that one was for a guy), eat a cake prepared by Katniss, telling who someone is most in love with, kiss someone around the circle, etc, etc.

When three am rolls around, almost everyone's drunk and people start to go home. Pretty soon Kiana is hugging Katniss and me tightly, telling us she was so honored to meet us, then skips out the door with a young woman who looks almost exactly like her. The woman is still a little green, from eating Katniss's cake. Gale gives me a smile and pats Katniss on the head as he leaves, making her swat at him and shoot him a glare.

Most everyone is gone, and when it's just Dile, Delly, us, a passed-out drunk guy and some goat, we decide to head home. Katniss follows me back to the kitchen, to say thanks to Delly, but we find her and Dile liplocked on the counter, their hands tangled in each other's hair. Katniss blushes and I decide to leave them alone. Grinning, I take her by the hand and lead her back to our house.

We make it through the door before collapsing onto the couch, her on top of me. We were a bit tipsy, and I'm conviced that they put something to make you loopy in those fancy Capitol drinks. Katniss laughs softly, making me half sit up to look at her.

"what?" I ask, then grin. I kiss her briefly on the lips, and she pulls away after a moment. "The game's over, Peeta" she slurrs, but she's still smiling.

"what was funny?" I ask her, this time resisting the urge to kiss her, instead brushing her hair away from her face. "The dares" she laughs. "I don't remember the last time I laughed that hard." It was a rare moment that she opened up to me like this, and I have a feeling it's more from the drinks. She buries her face into my chest, breathing a sigh. "I told you it would be fun" I say quietly, trying not to startle her into waking up. I trace small patterns on her arm, waiting for her response.

"Mhm" she murmurs.

"want to go to bed now?" I ask her, already knowing the answer. She nods again, and since I'm still wobbly, I take her by the hand and lead her upstairs, stumbling over to the matress, falling onto the soft sheets, my prosthetic leg bumping the bedframe. Katniss is curling up next to me, and turns her head upwards to me, her eyes barely open. I'm about to say something but she presses her lips to mine, and we kiss for a while, soft and gentle, until she pulls away, her breathing alightly heavy.

"Thank you" she says, burrowing into the fabric of my shirt.

I have no idea whether she was talking about the party, the kiss, or just loving her, so I just reply with

"You're welcome" She smiles and quickly falls asleep.

Woohoo! finished at 1:40am! I don't know why, but I write better late at night. weird...

My sister helped me write this chapter (she fell asleep about an hour ago) so tell us what you think! :) More fluff? More humor? More haymitch? plz tell!

Oh, and I also need ideas for what should happen next :D thank you!

Chapter 12: Fluff and kisses chap 12  
This chapter is titled 'Fluff' for a reason!

ps I used a few of your ideas and someone said they wanted more fluff. I try.

so anyhoo, enjoy chapter 12

This chapter is rated K++, almost T but still K

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Hunger Games. My initials arent SC :(

Katniss's POV

The next morning I have a headache, although not as bad as the time before the Quarter Quell. I massage my temples, still feeling groggy from last night, smiling when I remember that stupid party. Peeta notices my smiling.

"What is it?" he says groggily

"Nothing" I reply, laying my head down on his shoulder. "That was fun last night" he says, brushing my hair off my forehead. I smile again. He lays back down. "Do you want to do something today?" he asks, laying back down. "Not really" I reply, since my head is hurting more whenever I talk.

"Come on, nothing?" he asks, pulling me back over to him. "Nope" I reply against his chest. His heartbeat is enough to lull me back to sleep, but aparently he has other plans.

"We're doing something, okay?" He says, scooping me up into his lap. "Peeta, I'm tired" I whine, curling into a ball. "Well, yeah, you woke up three times last night" He stands up, I can feel the instant jolt of height change. He walks into the bathroom, after grabbing a random pair of clothes from my dresser. He sets me down on the toilet seat, setting the clothes down on the sink counter.

"There. Now get ready" he says, leaving the bathroom, closing the door with an audible click. I glance over to the bathtub, I really would rather be sleeping in my soft, warm bed...But clearly that's not happening. I sigh, turning on the water, then stripping off my clothes and standing under the warm spray. I scrub my hair and body, the soap stinging my eyes when I get to my face.

When I'm done, and standing in front of the steamed mirror, a towel wrapped around me, I stare at the scars across my shoulders and arms, all of thm wither pale pink or a light skin color, not matching my own. I hear a soft knock at the door. "Almost done?" Peeta asks.

"Yeah. I'l be out in a minute" I reply, starting to dry myself off and getting dressed. I step out of the bathroom, brushing my hair through with a wooden comb, meeting Peeta, who is sitting on the bed. He smiles, seeing my dsiscomfort of trying to pull the comb through the tangled mess He stands and takes the comb, and gestures to sit on the edge of my bed. He sits behind me, taking small portions of my hair and gently detangling it, until my hair is soft and smooth. I turn to face him, mistified at him. "How did you do that?" I ask him in awe. He laughs.

"If you ever combed your hair you would know how"

I scowl at him, and he smiles. "Leave it down today" he says to me, brushing the dark locks back over my shoulder. "...Okay" I sigh after a minute. "By the way, what are we doing, anyway?" I lean back against him, my still-damp head against his chest. I close my eyes and breath in the scent of clean clothes and soap.

"Well," he says, "Do you want to go on a date?" I gape at him. a date? I - We, had never been on a date. "Why?" I ask him, purely out of curiousity.

"Why not?" He asks me.

I shrug. It didnt seem of any importance to me. ''Sure. I guess." I mutter. He smiles and plants a kiss on my forehead. "Okay, meet me outside in a few minutes" He stands and walks away, leaving me to sit alone again.

Eventually I get up and slip on my shoes and coat, then going outside to meet Peeta, who is walking over from his house. "Ready?" he says. I nod.  
I follow him through the Seam, to the fence, which is now secured back onto the ground. He opens a gate that was recently built in to the chain-link fence, and I follow him holds my hand as we walk, and luckily the pain in my head is no longer there.

We walk for a long time, and I wish I had my bow, since the forest in teeming with life. Peeta seems not to notice, and is stomping through the trees, his prosthetic leg catching on roots and grass. Rabbits, squirrels, birds, and maybe even a deer scurry away.  
He leads me to a clearing, no more than ten square feet around. The bag he's been holding-which I haven't noticed until now-slides off his shoulder and he begins unpacking it. A thick, fluffy blanket, a small waterproof tarp, a medium-sized flask, a sketchbook.

He lies the tarp across the wet grass, next to a large boulder, then sets the blanket over it. He beckons for me to come sit with him. I plop down next to him, and he pulls the blanket over us.

My breath comes out in soft puffs, and I snuggle closer to Peeta.

"Really?" I ask him with a hint of sarcasm, "This is a date?" He grins and puts his arm across my shoulder. "Yep." He says, then kisses my head. We sit there for a while, in the cool autum air, just talking about different things. Peeta takes the flask, opnening it up and revealing hot chocolate. He hands it to me, and I take a sip. It's still nice and warm.

I hand him back the flask, and he drinks a long gulp from it, before setting it back in the bag. He turns back to me, taking my face in his hand and kissing me, his lips tasting like the coco and cinamin. When we pull back I rest my head against his shoulder, his other arm still wrapped around me. It was so peaceful out here, I wonder how in the world Peeta found it.

We stay there for another hour or so, kissing, drinking the hot chocolate, Peeta sketches me, and just talking. When we leave the 'meadow', we go into town, looking through shops and just walking through the district.

When we get home, we're both chilled to the bone, since now it's after dark, and the tempurature drops rapidly during this time of year. I strip off my coat, tossing it somewhere in the closet, and Peeta does the same. He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, his breath against my neck. "Wasn't that fun?" he murmurs, then kisses my jaw.

I barely get out a nod, leaning into his touch. warmth spreads from where he holds me, from his breath against my skin. Soon I barely feel the cold at all. He leads me to the couch, lying down with me, his lips still brushing my face and neck. He finds his way to my mouth again, the kiss deep and passionate. I break away a while later, completley out of breath and breathing heavily. Peeta smiles at me, and I blush.

Somehow he's under me now, so I lay my head on his chest, his heart thumping heavilly against his ribs. His hands go behind me, gently stroking my back, up to my shoulders. I bury my face against in the crook of his neck, letting my lips rest against his skin.

We fall asleep like that, until around one in the morning we're both so cold we're shivering, since the blanket is still in Peeta's bag. Peeta gently pulls me off of him, leading me upstairs to our room, pulling the covers up around us. I slip off my heavy winter pants, too tired to even care about putting anything else on. Peeta wraps his arms back around my shoulders, resuming our kiss from earlier. It reminded me of the last kiss on the beach, only better. Becuase this time I know we're safe, at least for the moment. His hands travel from my hair, down my shoulders and arms, and back up again. He does all of this, not breaking the connection of our lips.

It feels like hours past when we finally stop, and by then I don't think I can hold my head up any longer to continue. So instead I lay my head back under Peeta's, his chin on my hair. I fall asleep with him stroking my shoulderblades.

I loved writing this :D I dont kow why, but I did :) Sorry that it's kind of short. I didn't want to add another day to the story.

Plz review! Tell me what should happen next

thank you for reading and check out my other stories

Chapter 13: Chapter 13 Annie  
Chapter 13...that was fast (for me). So, I haven't gotten any reviews for like, three chapters, so I figured AWESOME people will review if I say this. In this chapter btw, Annie is a lot more stable (hehe). And the district four house is how I picture it in my phsyco mind. Anyway, here's chap 13.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Peeta's POV

(prolouge)

It's been three weeks of nothing but snow. Katniss is pacing around the room, driving me crazy. We've been stuck inside with nothing to do, no one to talk to except for each other. And she's getting sick of me fast. Finally, I have an idea.

"Katniss?" I ask her, trying to bring her to a stop.

"What?" She replies, trying to keep walking in circles.

"Do you want to do something? Go somewhere?"

She looks at me like I'm crazy, and quite possibly I am. "Peeta, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a blizzard"  
I roll my eyes at her, making her scowl in response. "I mean like, to another district" she looks at me the same way, but this time there's a hint of intrest. "Like where?" she asks, finally coming to a stop and sitting down in a chair across from me.

I think about it for a moment. "How about District Four? We can visit Annie and her son. We haven't seen them in a while" Katniss pauses to think about it, then nods. "Okay, when do you want to go?"

"How about tomarrow?"

"Okay."

I smile at her and go into the kitchen to make lunch.

Still in Peeta's POV

The next morning, after calls are made and bags are packed, Katniss and I stand outside the trainstation, waiting for the train to come. We're wairing winter clothes, but since District Four is so close to the ocean, we packed cooler things. I glance over at Katniss, who is shivering slightly. Even with her thick coat, she's still cold. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and she leans into me. A few minutes pass until the steaming whoosh of the train arrives, and we board it, along with a few other residents.

When we're settled in our booth (this train is nothing like the Capitol one) An attendant brings us champane, telling us it's courtesy of the conductor. Huh. So we're still celebrities, even after all these years. We thank her, taking tiny sips of the bubbly liquid. Katniss leans back against her seat, staring out the window. Snow-capped trees whip past, miles and miles of them.

"I don't like trains" she says quietly.

I know why. It reminds her, -us-, of the trains who brought us to the Capitol, for both of our games, and the one in District Two -I saw the footage of it- where the man shot her, afterward where she saw me in thirteen for the second time, where we first spoke face to face. Suddenly I feel depressed , remembering those harsh times. Katniss notices, and pipes up, "But they weren't all bad, the train rides, I mean."

A smile creeps up onto my lips. She's right-the victory tour train is when we both first started sleeping in her room (A/N: see: Sleep Again)

She glares at me, seeing my smile. "those were the good times" i add dreamily, pretending to have a flashback. I glance over to the booth next to ours, where a yound girl, problably only thirteen, sits staring at us, mainly at our scars, as if she can't recoidnize who we were but she was really trying to. I smile at her, and she blushes, but I catch the recoidnitionin her eye. She quickly turns back to her mother, not looking back at us again.

A few hours later, Katniss is leaning against my shoulder, asleep. A few other people are dozing, too. We just made our last stop in District Six, and with the overwhelming speed of this train, we should be in Four in about an hour. I watch the rolling hills outside the window, the occansional mountain passing by. My eyelids begin to get heavy and I'm almost asleep when the conductor says cheerfully from the intercom,

"We will be arriving in District Four in a few minutes!" I'm jolted awake by this, and Katniss snaps her head up, looking right and left, until she realizes where we are. "We're here?" she asks, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah" I reply, brushing her hair away from her eyes. She looks out the window, sand and dirt roads passing by more slowly, cliffs jutting down sharply near the water. "We met Finnick on the Victory tour. Real or Not real?" I ask her. "Not real" she replies softly, still looking out the window.

"Remember Haymitch saying how Panem wouldn't want to see us bonding with the other victors?"

"Oh, right." I reply, now also staring out the plated glass.

Soon the walls of the train station rise up around us, and we pull away from the window. I grin at Katniss. "Now we're here" I say. She gives me a small smile in return, and we waste no time grabbing our bags and shedding our coats to get outside.

The air is warm and balmy, the soft scent of salt water wafting in from the ocean. After exiting the station, We immedietly find Annie standing near the path leading into town, a young boy standing with her. She waves us over, greeting us with embraces and handshakes. Then she introduces us to Finn, her and Finnick's son.

He's a perfect mixture of the two of them, with Annie's nose and Finnick's eyes, light freckles across his cheeks, caramel-brown hair fraiming his face, shaped so much like Finnick's. He's shy as he hugs us, reffering to us as 'Uncle Peeta and Auntie Katniss'

We follow him and Annie through the streets to their home, near the ocean's edge. On the way we talk about the weather, Finn, and other topics to avoid the rebellion and district thirteen. When we get to their home, there's a way it looks that makes you feel like Finnick's there, from the decore to the pictures, portraits of indiviuals and a photograph of him and Annie in thirteen, hugging and laughing.

"It dosen't feel like he's gone, huh?" she murmurs, gazing off into the water outside. Katniss nods silently. Annie clears her throat and gestures down the hall. "You're staying here, right? Come on, I'll show you you're room" she smiles at us and leads us to one of the doors, into a airy, open room, with seashell accents around the bed and the walls.

"Pretty, huh?" Finn asks, giving us a toothy-four year old smile.

I smile back. "Yes, very."

"You two can stay as long as you want, it's great to have company" Annie says cheerfully. "I'll let you unpack, We'll be running some errands. Is that okay if we're gone for a few hours?"

"Sure, take your time"

"Come on, Finn" she says, leaving us alone. Katniss walks over to the bed, running her fingers over the silky bedspread. "This room is bautiful" she murmurs, then gazes outside the window. I nod absently, taking our bags over to the dresser.

"Maybe we can swim later" I say, starting to take my clothes out of my bag and setting them into the mahogany drawers. They remind me of Effie. Katniss comes over and begins to unpack also, until all of our clothes are packed neatly in the drawers. Well, mine are. Katnis's are mostly tossed in there.

When she's done, she flops onto the bed with a sigh, stretching out. I shut the door with my foot as I walk over to her, laying down next to her. I kiss her temple, and she snuggles into my side, her hand resting against my chest. In a matter of minutes she's asleep, her even breathing quiet and deep. I drift off after a while, too, to the soothing crashes of the ocean hitting the rocks outside.

It's a small knock at the door that wakes me up. Not the nightmare I was having just a few seconds ago, which is ironic.

"uncle Peetaaa?" a tiny voice asks

I stand up, rubbing my eyes as I walk over to the door. Finn is standing in the doorway, smiling shyly. "Hello Finn" I say warmly to the boy. He grins back. "Mommy wanted to know if you were awake; we're home!" I smile at him. "we'll be downstairs in a minute. Thank you" he salutes me as he hops off. Kids are cute.

I turn back to Katniss, who is still somehow asleep. I sit next to her, trying to wake her up, rolling her shoulders and whispering her name. She turns over and drousily looks at me, rubbing her eyes. "Morning, Peeta" she yawns sleepily. I smile at her. "Come on, lets go talk to Annie." she nods, rolling over to get up. I follow her out of the room, taking notice how our clothes were wrinkled and hair messed up. Oh well.

when we get downstairs, Katniss stops dead in her tracks, causing me to bump into her. I look over to where she's gaping, and see a familiar face looking back at us.

Katniss's mother.

OOOh cliff hanger :D eh, not really. People were saying that she should be in the story. I tried to make this chapter longer on purpose.

Review plz! Ideas are awesome!

Chapter 14: Annie and Finn part 2  
Hey! :) I decided to add this quick chapter, but mostly I wanted to ask you reviewers a question, which is at the bottom of this chapter, read on...

Disclaimer: I own nothing :(

Katniss's POV (finally)

I'm still staring at my mother in awe, until Peeta nudges me forward. My body feels like a robot, slowly walking over to the table where Annie is sitting, attending to Finn who has just hopped over to her. My mother smiles tightly, reaching her hands to enclose mine. Her fingers are worn, old, and somewhat wrinkled. "Katniss" she begins. I look back at Peeta, to see if he knows whats going on, but he just shrugs. I turn back to the woman before me.

"How are you?" She asks me

"Good" I whisper back, not able to look into her eyes. They look too much like Prims', and I can already feel the lump in my throat. "Peeta?" she asks him polietly. "I'm fine, thank you" he replies warmly. I stil don't see how he is so at ease with people, even complete strangers.

She then choses to say why she's here. "There rebuilding the hospital in District Eight, since there are so many recruits for new doctors. I heard you were coming to Four this morning, so I decided to visit you"

I nod, still looking at our linked hands. Peeta starts a conversation, but I pretty much zone out until I'm brought into it. "Katniss?" Annie asks, snapping me out of my trance. "Uhm, yeah?" I ask her. "I asked if you and Peeta were going to get married" I feel the heat rise to my cheeks.

"Um,...eventually, I guess." I mutter. Annie laughs, and my mother and Peeta smile.

The conversation continues, talking about the Capitol, The Districts, etcetera. When my mother leaves, (someone in the building comitee for the hospital calls) she leaves with a tight hug to each of us, making a comment about grandchildren when she hugs Finn.

Annie tells us that we'll go to the beach tomarrow, telling us goodnight as she goes to tuck a yawning-Finn to sleep. We go back to our room, changing into pajamas before climbing into bed. I lay my head on Peeta's chest, my eyes closed.

"You seemed preoccupied earlier" he says, stroking my back.

"Yeah. With my mother here it reminded me of Prim..." I trail off, but Peeta nods in understanding. The lump in my throat returns, and this time I can't stop the tears this time. Peeta soothes me while I cry, until all that's left are hiccups and sniffles. We lay in silence for a while until Peeta speaks up again.

"Finn's cute" he muses. I nod, smiling.

"Earlier he said that when he grows up he's going to said across the ocean and find a magical pot of gold"

Peeta chuckles, his chest vibrating under my head.

". . .Do you ever think about having kids?" he asks me quietly.

Startled, I look up at his face, making sure he's serious. When I see he is, I reply. "No."

"Why not?"

I smirk. "We live in Panem, Peeta. The Hunger Games, remember?"

He pauses before answering, mimicking my tone "They're over, now, Katniss, remember?"

"I still don't want kids"

"Why not?"

"I just don't, Peeta. ask me again in a few years." he laughs and continues stroking my back. "Deal." he says.

Yes, it's very short, i know. Just a little chap between to long ones (I hope)  
So anyway, I was wondering if I should add a picture caption to the story, and if so, what?  
I just figured out how to do that, but I want your guy's opinions on what it should be.

Review plz! :)

Chapter 15: The beach  
I'm on fall break right now (well, yesterday was the last day), so i'm adding this last chapter before getting too busy with school. A few people said that they wanted Katniss and Peeta to talk about having kids and getting married, so i wrote another oneshot on that (its called Talk). Review with ideas and suggestions!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Katniss's POV

I open my eyes to the soothing sound of waves crashing against the cliffs outside, Peeta's gentle breathing, and the feel of the cold breeze blowing in from outside. I sigh and reach above the bed to close the window, when Peeta wakes up, wrapping his arms around my stomach, pulling me back down onto the bed with him. He playfully nuzzles my neck.

"Good morning" he says, then kisses my jaw.

I manage to reach up to the window, but it's hard with Peeta holding me. I manage to graze the glass with the tip of my finger, and it shuts with a clack. I drop back onto the bed, letting Peeta kiss and hold me. I close my eyes, his lips grazing my face and neck, until he comes back to my lips.

We kiss for a while until there's another knock at the door. This time I get it, revealing Finn, already in his bathing suit, practically jumping up and down.

"We're going to the beach today!" he cheers.

''We'll be ready in a few minutes'' I tell Finn, who then happily skips off to Annie.

I close the door behind me, climbing back into bed. Peeta laughs. "And this is your definition of getting ready?" he asks me.  
"Mhm" I reply, pulling the blankets up over my head. I try to curl back up next to him, but he stands up before I can do so. "Peeta..." I mumur, still trying to go back to sleep.  
"Katniss..." he mimicks me. I scowl at him, but his back is turned. He hobbles over to the dresser, pulling out two towels and other things for the water.

Fifteen minutes later we're dragged outside by Finn, with Annie trailing behind us. "Finn, don't you get to go to the beach every day?" Peeta asks the jumping boy. He nods, "But I love the water!"  
He was so much like Finnick, it was as if he was him.

The rest of the day is spent swimming in the icy ocean, watching Finn do flips in the waves, him running up to us, carrying beautiful seashells, found in between crevices under the rocks, where no one thinks to look.

"For you" he says proudly, holding out a pale colored shell, shiny blue and purple coating the surface. I look back up at Finn before taking it. "Thank you" I say, smiling.

I see Peeta smiling at me in the corner of my eye, and I turn to scowl at him. Even if he promised, I know he's going to use that against me sooner or later to try and get me to have kids. "What?" I practically spit.

"Oh, nothing" he replies in a singsong voice, looking back over to Finn, who is now running back over to the water. Annie's napping to Peeta's right.

"Peeta, watch me!" Finn shouts from the rocks near the water. He's grown a liking to him, showing him things and playing together. He runs off the egde of the high rock, his splash in the water nearly drowned out by the waves crashing against the cliffs, and I doubt he can hear us anyway, but Peeta still cheers. He runs up the sand a minute later, soaking wet and laughing histerically.

On the way home, Finn hops ahead of us, walking proudly, problably triumphent for being able to get us into the freezing water. Even Peeta, with his prosthetic leg.  
It's just us watching him, since Annie had an episode about an hour ago, then said she had a headache and went back home early. It's late evening, the sun slowly setting behind the cliffs near the ocean.

A wind has kicked up, smelling like salt and fresh air. My sopping wet clothes stick to my body, and I involentarily shiver, rubbing my arms, goosebumps across my skin. Peeta glances over to me, seeing my discomfort. He wraps his arms around me, although he's almost as drenched. Somehow, someone *cough, Finn, cough* dropped the towels into the water, so they're no help either. I lean into his slightly warmer body, and we slow down our pace to balance.

Finn stops and turns to us, frowning, and hops back over. "Mommy says that you're not married" he states out of the blue. I look at him, somewhat suprised. "...Right, Finn. We're not" Peeta says calmly. The young boy frowns thoughtfully. "Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Not quite, Finn" Peeta chuckles.

Finn looks confused, thinknig about something. "Then how can you be auntie and uncle?" he asks Peeta. Peeta smiles. "I guess not."' Finn looks delighted.

"Then can I call just call you Peeta and Katniss?"

"Sure,."

"But... when are you gonna get married?"

Peeta looks at me pointedly, but I'm looking directly at Finn.

"Someday, Finn"

He smiles again, returning to skip ahead of us.

I can hear Peeta's smile when he speaks. "Maybe we should get married so he can address us properly." I look up at him and scowl, and he laughs. We make it back to the house, Finn opens the door for us, calling Annie's name once we're inside.

"In here!" she calls, leading Finn into the living room. "Mommy!" he cheers, hugging her. She laughs, half pushing him away. "Finn, you're completley soaked!" He giggles, and I find myself smiling at them. "Come on, lets go to bed" she tells him, taking his hand. Annie has really changed since she's had Finn with her. That's good.

She smiles at us, walking towards Finn's bedroom. Peeta takes my hand, leading me over to our room. He sits on the bed, pulling his shirt over his head. "You can shower first" he says. "...Unless you want to share one-" he laughs when I throw the pillow at his face, making him shut up. I scowl at him to cover up my blush.

I shut the door of the bathroom behind me, turning on the water while I take off my freezing clothes.  
The steamy water feels like heaven, and I take my time washing myself.

I pull a towel across me, opening the door to a sleeping Peeta, strewn across the bed. I silently walk over to him, sitting down beside him. I brush his blond locks out of his eyes, waiting for him to wake back up.

His eyes open and he pulls me down to his face for a kiss. I pull back, wiping my lips with the back of my hand. "Yuck," i say, "You taste like salt water." Peeta laughs, then stands up. "okay, then. Be right back," he says flirtariousley, his hand trailing across my face before shutting the bathroom door behind him. I chuckle slightly, pulling out pajamas from the dresser and a comb from my bag.

By the time Peeta gets out, I'm lying under the covers, my hair already detangled and the covers pulled up to my chest. He walks over, towel wrapped around his waist. I pretend to be asleep, waiting for him to get dressed. He does, eventually, after brushing my hair behind my ears for a while.

I cut the act when he slides in next to me, thankfully fully clothed. I curl up next to him, burying my face into his shoulder. He kisses my temple, whispering a goodnight before drifting off. I fall asleep soon after.

Finn nearly cries the next day after breakfast when we tell him we're leaving. Seriousley. Throughout the morning he clings to Peeta's leg, (his real one) until we're completly packed and ready to go. He gives us both a hug, telling us to come back soon. Peeta smiles at him, hugging him back.

We let Annie go with the promise that they can visit anytime, a hug, and a small wrapped gift Peeta handed to her when we were out the door. We walk to the train station in silence, people occasionally stopping and watching us go by. I don't mind anymore, so instead of staring daggers back, I lean my head against Peeta's shoulder.

I fall asleep again on the train ride again, and the next thing I know, Peeta is gently shaking my shoulder and telling me we're home.

I open my eyes sleepily, glancing out the window to a chilly District Twelve. Peeta hands me my jacket, and we exit the train, leaving the warmth of the train and into the cold autum air. We make it back to my house in the Victor's Village, unlocking the door, then turning on the heater. We collapse onto the couch, in our jackets and all, kissing until we fall asleep.

And I think, that trip was worth it.

Awww... :D  
Okay, the next chapter will be up relativley soon, but I'll be busy with school and stuff, so bear with me here.

Review plz! XD

Chapter 16: Convince Me  
I was reading the fanfic"Fifteen Years" by Haunted Silver (which, btw is like, the awesomness story ever-You should really read it!) And I had to write this; since you guys wanted more Peeta trying to get Katniss to have kids; hence the chapter 16 :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Katniss POV

I pull the blankets up to my chin. How I got to my room, I don't know. But I'm still tired from last night and it's getting colder and colder so all I really want to do is curl up next to Peeta and fall asleep again.

Wait.

Where is Peeta? I open my eyes once again and glance around the room. Peeta wasn't in here, but his spot on the bed was mussed, so he had been in here earlier. I sit up in bed, rubbing my eyes and blowing my long bangs out of my face. I stand up, the cool air settling onto my skin. Peeta must've turned off the heater last night; it was freezing in here.

I walk down the hall, my feet padding silently on the hardwood. "Peeta?" I call softly. I hear muffled shifting down stairs, so that's where I look first. Walking quietly and attentivley-a trait I picked up from hunting and the games- I make my way down the stairs, relief sweeps over me when I see a familiar blond head.

"Peeta?" I repeat, this time out of curiousity. I walk over to him, seeing him jump when he hears me.

"Why are you up so early?" I ask him.

"I couldn't sleep. Sorry." He reaches up to me, pulling me down to sit with him on the couch.

"No, don't apologize. You should've woken me." I scold him, tucking my feet under me.

"No,...You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to wake you" He smiles. I scowl.

I glance down at the sketchpad in his hands, the first time I noticed it.

"What are you drawing?" I ask him, trying to see the paper. He frowns slightly, clutching the sketchpad to his naked chest, much like a young girl would with her favorite doll. "Not yet" he says, reffering to the fact that he's not done yet.

I pretend to pout. "Why not?" I ask him.

"I'm not done" he replies.

"Peeta..." I whine. "Please?"

He thinks about it a moment, then reluctantly hands over the sketch.

I look long and hard at the rough, watercolor paper that contains his very basic sketch of children-what would be our children, one with my eyes and the rest of his features, and the other with his eyes and my face. I look skeptically back at Peeta. "I thought we talked about this" I say, staring harshly at him. He looks anywhere except at me. "Sorry" he mutters halfheartedly.

"Peeta, you said you weren't going to bring this up again. You promised."

He looks at me wryly. "Katniss... Please? I never wanted anything more than this. Plus, I didn't even bring it up. You're the one who wanted to see the sketch."

I roll my eyes. "Really, Peeta?"

"Yes." He says simply, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against him.

"Come on, Kantiss. Give me one reason why you don't want to have kids."

"Well for one, we're not even married."

"So let's get married!"

I give him a look that says, Seriousley, Peeta?

"We'll have to tell them about. . .you know."

His elated face drops a bit. ". . .Yeah, but we have the book, Katniss. And we're strong. We can do it."

"I know. But still."

"What other reasons, then?"

"Peeta, it's painful."

"Not to me"

I whack his shoulder lightly, making him laugh.

"Really, Peeta. No."

He looks pleadingly at me, but I stand my ground. "No. Peeta." I repeat.

He sighs. "Fine. You win this time, Everdeen."

I laugh quietly, grinning at him. He smiles softly back, pulling me back towards him for a kiss. His lips are soft and warm.

"Mreow" I regretfully pull back from Peeta, scowling at nasty Buttercup, who perches on the edge of the coffee table. "Go away" I tell the mangy animal, locking my lips against Peeta's again. He laughs into the kiss, making us break apart again. "Come on, he hasn't been fed since we left" Peeta says, scooping up the hideous cat. Suprisingly, Buttercup dosen't hiss or strangle against Peeta. Instead he looks back at me smugly. I scowl at the ugly fluff ball as he goes into the kitchen in Peeta's arms.

Once Peeta's finished with feeding the stupid cat, he comes back into the living room, sliding down next to me. I rest my head against his warm skin, his heartbeat steady under my ear. He absently plays with my braid, while I draw circles with my fingertip across his collarbone.

"The other day you said you'd think about it" he states, lifting my chin so I have to look at him. I nod, but I really just want to get out of this particular conversation. "Peeta, really. Drop it." I say, frowning at him. "Katniss" he repeats, laying my head down on his arm. We somehow both manage to stretch out on the couch, our legs tangled together.

"Someday, right?"

"I guess, Peeta."

He gives me a slightly pathetic triumphent grin, making him look about fourteen years old. I smirk at him and kiss his cheek.

Wow I wrote this in an hour 0.o WHATS WRONG WITH ME? Oh wait, it's still pretty short. Oh well :P  
pps.: Anyone notice that K/P are getting more romantic throughout the chapters? If it bothers anyone...well then first of all, you shouldn't be reading this fanfic ;D

PPPS: The 75th reviewer will get to pick what happens in whatever chapter is next. this is optional, btw.

Review PLZ! :)

Chapter 17: Chapter 17, 75th reviwer  
Congrats to HungerGamesFan, who is the 75th reviewer *confetti and blowhorns* :D (He/She) came up with the idea for this chapter. I tried to keep it as if it were actually Katniss and Peeta in District Twelve without making it too AU. Sorry it took so long; I dropped the computer and I had to redo it(twice) Anyway, Enjoy chapter 17

Discalimer: I own nothing

Peeta's POV

I think Katniss is mad at me.

Usually, when I wake up, She at least stays behind to tell me good morning before escaping into the woods. Not today. She left early this morning, leaving golden shafts of light across her spot on the bed. I sigh an stand up, then going to take a shower.

~..o0O|O0o...~

Katniss comes home a few hours later, calling my name as she shuts the door behind her. I walk behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, gathering her slender frame to me. "Hi" I greet her, kissing her cheek.

She leans her head back against my shoulder for a moment, Then pulling away to set her bow down on the coffee table and starting to unpack her game bag. Afterwards she pulls out a knife and begins to skin a rabbit. I sit down next to her, playing with a squirrel. "What do you want to do today?" I ask her, glancing over.

She gives me that Really, Peeta? look. "What?" I ask her.  
"I've been hunting all day, and I'm tired and sweaty." Yep, she's definitely mad. "Okay, tomorrow, then?"

"Sure."

I smile and pull her close for a kiss. "Be right back" she murmurs into the kiss before going upstairs.

|\|\|\|\|*&*\|\|\|\|\|

She comes back out fifteen minutes later, with her hair down and a towel wrapped around her. I try to kiss her again, but she shoos me out of the bedroom to get dressed. I head into the kitchen, starting to make dinner, and after a moment I hear Katniss's quiet tread down the stairs, and she hops onto the counter behind me, combing through her tangled hair.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" She asks

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe pasta or something?"

"Not dinner, I meant for tomarrow."

"Ohh..."

I pause to think about it. There really wasn't much to do here, that's for sure. But... "Do you want to go on another date?" I ask her. She must be looking up at me quizzically. "Why?"  
I smile. "Why not?"

I can almost see her rolling her eyes. "Fine. Where?" I actually hadn't thought about it that far...

"Um...How about dinner or something?"

"...Okay."

I smile and continue cooking.

~~Later that night~~

Katniss lays her damp hair against my shoulder, Every breath she takes making her body briefly brush mine. I sigh. "Katniss, are you mad?" I ask her quietly. She looks up at me, and I almost regretted asking her; she moved away from me. "Why do you ask?" She asks me, frowning in the dim light.

". . .I'm not mad" She finally replies.

"Katniss," I plead. It was obvious she was upset. "What?" I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her ribcage. "I'm sorry" I mumble into her hair. She looks up at me. "For what?"  
"Sorry for everything"  
She smirks. "Peeta, don't apologize."  
"I have to" I kiss her forehead.  
"I kept bringing up kids, so now you hate me"  
"Peeta, I don't hate you. And you're forgiven. Now go to sleep."

I chuckle at her, pulling her even closer. "Not yet" I murmur, pressing my lips to hers. We kiss for a long time before Katniss begins to drift off.

*^*^*^*The Next day*^*^*^*

This morning, Katniss is looking over me, disentangled hair tickling my nose. "Morning" She says quietly, kissing me on my forehead, then turning to leave. I grab her hand, pulling her back towards me for a proper kiss. She sighs (smiling) but she kisses back anyway. She pulls back after a few minutes, picking her bow and sheath of arrows off the bed and leaving with a small smile.

I grin when she closes the door behind her. It was good to have things back to normal.

^*^*^*Later that day*^*^*^*

"Peeta?" I hear Katniss's voice when she gets home, dropping her bag and bow on the floor near the entry way, and I nearly pounce over to her(which is hard to do with a fake leg), wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her cheek from behind.

"Peeta, I thought we went over this -" She dosen't get to finish, becuase I distract her by kissing her neck and jaw, slowly guiding her to the couch. Her legs bump against the armrest and I end up on top of her, holding most of my weight on my elbows. "Peeta! -" she cries, obviousley suprised about my antics; I usually don't do stuff like this.

She keeps trying to say my name, but I interrupt her with more kisses. Eventually she kisses back, but then she pushes against my chest. "Can I get up now?" She asks me. "Never" I reply, kissing her nose.

"If I'm stuck here we can't go to dinner"

Actually, the thought of being here alone together sounds a lot more appealing than having to go out in public and act formal.

"I'm okay with that" I tell her, nuzzling her neck playfully.

"It was your idea" she reminds me.

"Oh, fine." I mumble against her collarbone.

^_^_^_^(Four Hours Later)^_^_^_^

Dinner wasn't so bad.

Really, though, being here cuddled up on the couch is so much better, but the restaurant wasn't too awful. It's District Twelve's first and only resturaunt, so it was a bit crowded. The hostess/waitress was apparently a big "Star-crossed lover" fan, and kept "fangirling" over us. It made Katniss really uncomfortable, and frankly it wasn't that fun for me either.

Neither of us had actually been to a restaurant before - if you don't count Katniss eating at Greasy Sae's stand at the Hob - so that part was nice. But really, I much rather enjoy sitting here - at home.

"See? That wasn't so bad" I murmur to Katniss.

"I'm stuffed" she complains, burying her face into my shoulder, pulling the quilt up over her shoulders.

I chuckle, brushing loose strands of her hair back away from her face.

"It was still fun, though, right?"

". . .I guess"

"Good. Do you want to go back?"

"I don't know"

She yawns, indicating my time to shut up. "I had fun. Goodnight, Katniss"

"`night. Love you"

"Love you too."

She drifts off, and I watch her until my eyes get heavy. I lay down next to her on the wide couch, loosely wrapping my arms across her hips.

Grrr...I HAD TO REWRITE IT 3 TIMES! :( Oh well. it's done now. I hope it was what you were thinking of, HungerGamesFan! thanks again!

Review plz! =D

Chapter 18: chap 18 Sleeping in Gasp  
Gr I got the laptop taken away (again) so I didn't get to add (/write -.-) this chapter. Thank you guys for the reviews! I love when people review more than once, `it says that they keep reading the story` ~~chapter 18 :)~~

***Takes place a few weeks after previous chapter, so in winter***

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriousley. Nothing.

Katniss POV :D

The nightmares are back.  
They never really went away, but now they're more intense. I woke up at least three times last night, each time making Peeta wake up with me, so this morning, we're both exhausted, and we end up sleeping in more than a few hours. Oh well. I've been hunting every day this week; and delivered to pretty much everyone. I was okay for sleeping in.

I bury my face deep into Peeta's chest, his arms still wrapped around me from last night. "So I take it we're staying home today?" He mumbles into my hair. I nod, and since it's getting so cold lately, there's really no reason to get up anyway. I drift off again, and It feels like I had only been asleep for a few seconds, but when I sit up in bed and rub my eyes, Peeta places a plate of cheese buns in front of me. Why he thinks these are the only pastries I eat, i don't know. Still, I eat them.

"When did you make these?" I ask him, my mouth full of bread.

He laughs. "You were asleep for two hours" I glance out the window, where, in fact, the sky had gotten much brighter, despite the clouds shielding the sky. "Oh." Is my reply, taking another bite. Peeta lays back down again, pulling his pillow over his face. I finish off my cheesebun, staring out the window, remembering Bonnie and Twill all those years ago. I set the plate on the nightstand, then curling back up under the covers, the thick comforter radiating Peeta's body heat. I gratefully snuggle up next to him, feel his arm automatically come to pull me closer.

I roll over, setting my hand over his chest, curling my legs around his'. He turns over, too, his nose only an inch away from mine. He kisses my temple, making me snuggle even closer. He combs his fingers thorugh my tangled, unwashed hair, dry and loose from my braid.

I turn my face upward, meeting his lips with mine. He smiles a little, still keeping his lips against mine.

After about ten minutes, the phone rings downstairs, making Peeta groan in frusturation (yes, into the kiss) and I smirk. I hop out of the bed, already walking out of the bedroom door, making Peeta groan again.

"Hello?" I ask flatly.

"Well hello to you too, Sweetheart"

"Haymitch? Why are you calling me. I live two houses away"

"No duh, Sweetie. I'm in the Capitol"

". . .Why?"

"Well that's for you to find out. Listen, theres gonna be a train there tomarrow afternoon. Bring loverboy; no need to pack anything. Make sure you two get there on time."

"What? Why?"

"Just be at the train, Sweetheart."

He hangs up before I can say anything else.

Peeta comes down the stairs, his wrinkled pajama shirt unbuttoned, bearing the scars across his chest and stomach. His blond curls are tangled and wild around his face. He rubs his eye as he hobbles into the room. "Who was it?" he asks me. I glance back at the phone in my hand, the dial tone flat and almost silent.

"It was Haymitch... He was calling from the Capitol; he said we have to go to the Capitol tomarrow."

He mirrors my confused expression. "Did he say why?" he asks me, walking over to me and wrapping his arm around my waist; his favorite way to hold me, apparently. "No." I say. He hooks his chin over my shoulder, leaning his face against my ear. ". . .Do you want to go?" he murmurs.

"He said we have to go"

He pretends to look offended. "It's up to you, Katniss. You're descision" I laugh, leaning my head against his. "Even if he said it was an emergancy?"

"escpecially if he said was an emergency."

I grin. "Okay. We'll go."

"Great" he says smiling.

He guides me by the hand back up to the room, where we get to sleep in for the rest of the day under our fort made of pillows and sheets.

*Gasp!* Why are they going to the Capitol? Why is Haymitch there? Why is it so urgent? Why am I asking all these questions?

:P Review with your ideas on what should happen next! ~Thank you for reading~ :D

Chapter 19: Pre - Capitol chap 19  
This is an 'in-between' chapter, because I need more ideas :P ~ Really short, really has nothing to do with the story line. Review Please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Katniss POV

When we finally do wake up, I get that feeling in my stomach of "*groan*-I-really-don't-want-to-do- this-but-I-have-to" kind of way. Peeta rolls over, looking at me. "What is it?" He asks me gently. I pull the covers up over my head, trying to get myself sleepy again. No such luck.

"We have to go to the Capitol tomorrow" I groan.

"Is it really that bad?" He asks me, reaching around my sides.

"Yes." I reply simply.

"You're the one who wanted to go" he reminds me.

I nod, burying my face into his shoulder. We really didn't have to go, but if we didn't, Effie would be on our case for weeks, telling us, after all these years, we still never learned 'manners' and 'being on time'. Which, by the way, Isn't at all fun or a happy experience.

I want to sink into this bed and sleep here forever with Peeta, bathed in the golden light coming from the window abouve the bed. I begin to get restless, - I had no patience for forever - and decided I needed to do something. I sit up in bed, the thin, warm sheets falling from my shoulders, revealing the thin, oversized shirt I had worn to bed.

Peeta looks up at me quizzically. "What's wrong?" he asks me. I shrug. "I'm going to take a shower" I tell him, after kissing him lightly on the lips.

I step out of the steam - filled bathroom, my hair damp and sticking to my skin. A thick towel is wrapped around me, the smell of Capitol shampoo and soap wafting from my skin. I glance around the room, seeing Peeta wasn't in the room.

"Peeta?" I call,

No answer. I would go look for him, but I'm a little reluctant to leave the room in nothing but a towel.  
After changing into a thick, fleece sweatshirt and shorts (it wasn't that cold in the house), and braiding only the top-half of my hair, I slip out of the room, careful to close the door behind me.

"Peeta?" I ask the empty hall before me.

"In here" is his reply from the kitchen. I almost sigh in relief (I get anxiety when I don't know where he is), and follow the sound of his voice. I find him in the kitchen, kneading a tan - colored lump of dough. His sleeves rolled up and flour dusting up to his elbows. "Hey" I greet him quietly. I see him smile on the profile of his face. I grin at him, even though he can't see me. I hop onto the counter, swinging my legs back and forth.

"What are you making?" I ask him.

"Raisin bread for tomorrow."

"Mhm" I reply, picking up the thin bag full of raisins. I eat two, then hand the bag to Peeta, who sprinkles a few into the dough, and continues kneading.

Once the bread is in the oven (A/N: hee hee), Peeta smiles and takes me by the hand up the stairs, past our bedroom to the rickety ladder against one of the balconies that leads to the roof. I climb ahead of him, in case of him falling he wouldn't crush me.

I walk along the shingles covering the roof of the house, looking across at the woods and beyond, the town obscured from my view by the Victors Village houses looming over everything I can see. Peeta joins me after a moment, walking up behind me on the slightly slanted surface of the roof, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and leaning his head against the curve of my neck.

"The district's really growing" he murmurs.

I nod. What used to be the Seam is now where most residents live, in the brand-new mini - Victor's Village houses that dot the landscape. Although we can't see it from here, the square has been re-pavedand repainted, the shops rebuilt, including Peeta's family's bakery, which is now owned by another Merchant family.

I could stay up here watching the district, if it weren't for the fact that we were going to the Capitol tomarrow, and becuase it's so cold up here. I shiver involinterially, making Peeta instantly pull away.

"Are you cold?" he asks me. Without waiting for a reply he adds, "Come on, lets go back inside." he kisses me gently on my cheekbone, leading me back down the ladder and back into the warmth of the house.

Bad ending. Oh well. Please review! and ps, I don't like to change the story line, so I won't bring anyone back from the dead. :( sorry. (Yes, I miss Finnick too)

Review please :]P

Chapter 20: 20 Train oneshot  
I am so, so, so, sooooo sorry for not updating! I've been sick for a while (lol ironic!) and theres been so much to do school...Eh, plus I've been addicted to Twilight recently.(Don't hate!)  
I'm still working on what's going on in the next chapter, so this is just a short little piece during the train ride.

Disclaimer: If I owned Hunger Games, I wouldn't be so obsessed as to name my dogs Brutus and Prim, which I did. So, no, don't own it.

Katniss POV

The cool wind whips my hair across my face, and I lean into Peeta more. His warmth radiates around him, even when he's in his jacket. His arm wraps around my shoulder reflexivley, and I stifle a yawn; having to wait at the outdoor train station has been tiring.

Finally, the slight whoosh of the train against the cold wind breaks me out of my stupor, and I sit up, still clinging to Peeta. Passengers around us walk over to board the enormous, shiny Capitol train, and we follow. We get our tickets stamped (The Capitol way) and Peeta gives me a quick kiss on my forehead as we make our way toour seats. The train looks exactly like the one we took to District Four, down to the last little pillow on the fancy booths.

Already, I'm exhausted from doing nothing all day, and my eyelids droop while I remove my jacket. "Are you really that tired?" Peeta teases before settling me against his ribcage. I nod sleepily; All I really want to do is find a warm spot and pass out. He chuckles as he pulls me tighter. "Yes, doing nothing all day can exhaust anyone" I mutter, wrapping my arm across his chest, against his long-sleeved flannel shirt that clings to his skin.

I don't care about the children sitting with their parents staring at us, nor do I care whenever the cunductor comes onto the intercom to tell us we're making another stop. I can only focus on Peeta's arms around me, his soft scent of cinamin and dill. I burrow my face deeper into his shoulder and finally fall asleep.

When I open my eyes, I'm looking up at Peeta's face. it takes me a second to realize I'm laying down on the vinyl seat, and I sit up quickly, nearly hitting my head against Peeta's. "Whoops. sorry" I mumble, rubbing my eyes. He smiles faintly, and I can tell he just woke up himself. "It's okay" he replies quietly, smiling. He taces his fingers along my neck and shoulder, and I know I'm forgiven.

"Where are we?" I ask, glancing out the window.

"District Four" Peeta replies, kissing me lightly on the lips. "We have to get off soon, actually."

"Okay" I answer, while he brushes my hair out of my eyes.

As if on cue, the cunductor announces we're stopping soon. Peeta smiles as the train begins to slow, offering me his hand after he stands. "Shall we?" he asks me, grinning. I scowl back, but take his hand anyway, following him out, with him carrying both of our jackets.

We follow an edlerly woman off the train, to where, outside, I'm always suprised to have the sun shining, rather than icy winds whipping throughout the District.

Peeta grins at my suprised expression. "It's always weird here, isn't it?" he muses.

I nod, watching three white and gray birds fly across the horizon.

Peeta glances at the clock over the trainstation building. "We have about an hour before we have to board the train... What do you want to do?" he asks me. I shrug. There isn't much that I do besides the average hunting, watching Peeta (bake, sketch, paint, etc.), or hike.

Somehow, nearly an hour later, I find myself (and Peeta) kissing in the sand where the tiny, shallow waves that lap up just far enough to lick up to our shoulders. I don't even mind the blazing sun, or the occasional person walking by - usually staring, - , or the fact that our clothes are starting to really get soaked.

Eventually, Peeta pulls away. I open my eyes and see that he's smiling at me, rather slyly. "What?" I pout, crossing my arms over my chest. (which is rather hard, when your laying down on your back in the sand) He smiles even wider. "The train?" he reminds me

"Oh. Right. The 'urgent news' that Haymitch has..." I say sarcastically.

Peeta scoops me up, bridal-style, making me gasp and lock my arms around his neck. He laughs delightedly. I scowl at him.

Surisingly, we make it back to the train station, with Peeta still carrying me, and by then our clothes are nearly dry. We board the train once more, sand-covered and salty-smelling and all, recieving strange looks from other people around us, trying to find out why in the world the star-crossed loverd from district twelve are in district four, with wild hair and clothes.

But just like any other time today, I don't care about any of that. Except for Peeta, of course.

Eh, it's a bit cheesy. Oh well. Review please!

Chapter 21: Next chapter will be up soon!  
Okay, so I'm already halfway done with the next chapter, but I want to ask you guys something, since a few of you had this idea;

Do you guys want Madge to come back? If not, who else?

Or should Peeta propose or something?

Or what else?

I'm like, the most indecisve person ever (it's a wonder I made it this far lol) so I need you guy's input.

Thanks!

Chapter 22: 22 the Capitol  
I'm so sorry about not updating! My friend's visiting from Belguim, and I missed her so that was nice :) Okay, I used a few of your ideas, (thank you!) :( - and overused, yes it is -

Disclaimer: I do not own da HG trilogy

Peeta's POV

I'm sweating bullets as we pull into the train station in the Capitol. Not that you'd notice - It's really hot out here - but maybe Katniss notices my hands trembling in hers. She dosen't say anything, though.

Effie greets us like usualy whenever we come here, her bright blue hair gleaming in the intense sunlight. She twirls her hand up, gesturing for us to follow her. She speed-walks into the air-conditioned station.

"Hey, Effie" Katniss asks, skipping a little faster to keep up with Effie's expert-high-heel-walking. Her braid swings up behind her.

"Yes?" she trills, smiling over her bright white teeth

"Do you know what the big emergency is?" she asks her

Effie's smile falls slightly, and after a moment she purses her lips and frowns. "No" she says simply, then stops near a booth to sign a paper.

Katniss refuses to stay in a hotel or house in the Capitol, so somehow we end up in the Training Center. It's problably going to bring back more bad memories, but really, anything in the Capitol will.

The rooms are nearly exactly the same, down to the last shampoos in the shower. We stay in my room - Katniss's reminds her too much of those wretched months after she killed Coin. Even so, she still wakes up screaming almost every night. At least she can sleep. I'm too nervous on what's coming up. I know why we're here, but I have to keep it a secret. So when she asks, I'm so grateful for my lying abilites (is that a good thing?)

Yesterday:

"Peeta?" Katniss asked, leaving the kitchen area of the floor.

"Hm?" I'd asked her, flipping through the channels of the enormous TV

"Do you know why we're here?" she asked suspiciousley, sitting down on her leg against my thigh.

I gulped, but luckily she hadn't seen. "Ah, no" I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She rested her chin on my shoulder thoughtfully. "I wonder why we haven't seen Haymitch at all..." she trailed off suggestivley, as if trying to get me to continue. I shrugged and pretended to look at the televison screen.

"Are you sure you don't know?" she'd asked me, frowning at me now. I'd kissed her pouted lips then patted her head. "You'll find out soon enough" I'd promised her.

Now, today, I'm with Johanna in a resturaunt near the training center, the normalest of the shops here in this section of the city. I take a sip of my water, playing with the straw as I watch Johanna scribble something across her paper in a messy scrawl.

She passes it to me, and on the top of the paper it reads, Ideas for proposing

- In front of training center

- on the roof

- train station?

- back in 13,

- or 12?

I sigh and write,

Uh, roof is good.

She nods and takes a bite of her pasta. We're writing becuase neither one of us really wants to be attacked by paparazzi wanting to see me propose to Katniss. Plus, it keeps the ideas straight.  
I'm still confused about why Johanna's even here in the first place, she said something about a meeting or rather. Katniss is with Effie on a shopping trip (We got into a bit of a fight over who would go with her) and I'm waiting for her to get back. Johanna just happened to be in the Capitol as well, so we went to lunch. I glance at the clock.

"Uh, Johanna, Katniss should be back soon, so..."

"Right. See ya later, Breadboy" She winks with a smirk before leaving the tiny resturaunt in three long strides.

I sigh at the list and stand up. The waiter waves at me as I leave. I walk back to the training center, nervous about what I'll say - and more importantly, what she'll say, - that I don't evebn notice that I'm already here.

I hit the button for '12' and the elevator shoots up, and when I step off, Katniss is scowling at me from across the room. I smile appologetically back, crossing the room to wrap her in my arms. She's still glaring at me when I reach around her thighs to pick her up, so that she's still facing me and her legs are wrapped around my waist.

She glances to the side to where Effie sits on one of the stools at the counter near the kitchen, blabbing on a tiny phone in a high pitched voice. I press my lips to Katniss's forehead, telling her I don't care who's watching.

"I'm sorry" I tell her sincerely, reaching up a hand from my hold on her legs to brush the hair away from her eyes. She still says nothing.

"Really, I am. Was it really so bad?" I ask her

She nods gravely, shuddering slightly at the memory. I chuckle at her, slowly walking back to my room with her in my arms still.

I open the door, stepping inside and closing it behind us. I set her on the bed on her back, and I sit crossed-legged next to her torso, taking extra time to reposition my leg. "What'd you two buy?" I ask her, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

She smiles ever so slightly, reaching her arms to cover her face with her forearms. "Ugh," she says, the first thing she said since I got back, "Effie made me try on dress after dress..." she yawns, and I wonder how long she'd been gone. I'd only been out for a few hours, from wandering the streets and eating with Johanna, and i can't imagine how much of torture that was for her.

I travel farther down, brushing her neck with my lips. "Really. I'm sorry again." I repeat, smiling to myself when I feel her shiver slightly. "It's okay" she whispers, turning towards me. I lay down next to her, restine my arm over her hip and the other under her head as a pillow.

"So what did you do today?" She asks me, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

"Uh,... Actually, I was with Johanna"

Her eyes brighten. "Johanna's here?" she asks exitedly. I smile at her. "Yep. She told me to say hi" I lean forward to briefly kiss her. She smiles.

"And did you see Haymitch?" she asks suspiciousley.

"No, Katniss, if I do, I promise I'll tell you. Deal?"

Katniss nods, leaning back on my arm again.

Katniss and Johanna are in the living room, talking about who-knows-what. Effie's with me, telling me supportive things while I try to not hypervenilate. Eventually, when my breathing's back to normal, I take a deep breath and clear my throat.

"Ahh, Katniss? Can you come with me for a second?"

She looks up from Johanna at me, then back at Johanna, who waves her to me. Katniss follows me, a quizzical look on her face. I force a smile and reach for her hand. She gladly accepts, and Effie crosses her fingers in support when we walk past.

We get to the roof, and it's even prettier than usual. The glittering lights reflect up and the garden seems to glow. Katniss notices too, and gasps quietly before walking over to the edge and looking out over the Capitol. I check my pocket for the pearly ring one more time before walking up behind Katniss.

I slide my arms around her waist from behind, resting my chin on her shouler. "I love you" I remind her, kissing her jaw very gently. She blushes slightly, smiling.

"...And I'll love you forever" I add,

I turn her around toward me, my heart pounding in my chest. I kiss her lightly, then get down on one knee. Her eyes widen slightly in realization.

"Katniss Everdeen, I've loved you and will love you forever and ever. I love you more than I love myself, and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life. I can't survive without you, Katniss, so will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Huge Cliffhanger! I'm making the next chapter now, so don't freak out :) I know Katniss was really opposed to marrige in earlier chapters, but cut Peeta a break. oh well :)

Review with your opinions!

Chapter 23: 23 Engagement  
Extra fluff in this chapter :)

Disclaimer: Peeta [and everybody else] Belongs to Suzanne Collins. I'm not her :(

Peeta's POV

My legs are numb with my weight from kneeling so long. Although it felt like forever, it probably was only a second. In a move so fast I don't even see it, my face is buried in Katniss's neck, and she's hugging me tight. I stand up and wrap my arms around her back and pick her up, spinning us both around. When I pause, I kiss her deeply, her lips slightly damp from her tears.

I finally pull back, studying her face. "So...I'll take that as a yes?"

She grins, nods, then crashes her lips to mine again. Still carrying her and not breaking our lip contact, I walk back inside, and I hear Effie's delighted gasp when she sees us kissing, an obvious 'yes' on Katniss's part. She claps exitedly and Johanna smirks a quiet, "T's About time"

After another moment Katniss pulls away, grinning from ear to ear. "What're you waitin for? Let's see the ring"

We both spin around to see Haymitch standing in the doorway, holding none other than a bottle of liquor. Katniss glares at him, and I slip the ring into her hand that's not holding mine. She turns away from staring down Haymitch to see what I gave her. Her eyes widen when she takes in the tiny pearl, creamy white with one tiny crack along the side. The band is thin woven gold, and two tiny diamonds are set next to either side of the pearl.

She looks back up at me, shocked, and throws her arms around my neck once again, her lips on mine in a second. Haymitch pretends to throw up behind us, and Johanna groans loudly. We laugh into the kiss.

That Night...

Katniss can't sleep at all tonight. She keeps giggling at random times, and she can't stop kissing me. When I get enough time to finally say something, I ask a question; "I thought you never wanted to get married?" I ask her, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She frowns at me, taking in my face. "I don't know."

I laugh at that (quietly, we're in bed and this place got a bit crowded after Annie got here), and she lightly smacks my shoulder. I nuzzle her neck, and she lifts my chin up and begins kissing me again.

I smirk and pull back after only a second, and she leans over me on her knees, trying to get back to my lips again.

"What's gotten into you?" I ask playfully, tracing her collarbone with my finger. She kisses me again. "I dont know," -kiss- "Must be" -kiss- "Excitement" -kiss- "Or something" After that she doesn't bother speaking, only briefly pausing every now and then to breathe.

We end up only getting a few hours' sleep, thanks to Katniss. Not that I'm complaining.

And the second I wake up, she nuzzles my neck and kisses my jaw. I shiver involuntarily, making her grin. "Morning" she greets me, sitting up. It was suprising to see she didn't have any nightmares last night. I can't say the same for myself, though.

Effie knocks on the door a few minutes later, calling us to breakfast. Katniss - My fiancée - turns to me, looking thoughtful. "So there wasn't any emergency?" she asks flatly. I smile at her sheepishly. She glares at me.

"What? You wouldn't have come if it wasn't mandatory" I remind her.

Someone knocks on the door again, this time loud and somehow annoyed. "Hurry up!" Johanna's irritated voice calls. "You lovebirds're gonna miss your train" she snaps. I chuckle and scoop Katniss out from under the covers, carrying her over to the door. "she's just jealous" I whisper to her; she grins.

When we're at the fancy train station waiting for the train to pull up, Effie keeps hugging us and congradulating us over and over. She's upset that she can't plan the wedding; we're just going to have a toasting with a few friends. When the train finally pulls up with a silent whoosh , we say our final goodbyes (for now) to Effie, Haymitch, Johanna, and Annie. Haymitch decided to stay here ith Effie for now.

We wave once more before boarding the train, linked by our hands.

"This is for forever" I remind katniss once we're in our seats.

She grins and leans into me. "I know"

Like it? I know Katniss problably wouldn't be all kissy-face in real life, but I thought she'd be all happy anyway. Review please! :)

Chapter 24: 24 Haircuts  
I haven't updated for a while, and the guilt is killing me. So sorry :( I will update soon after this! PS. probably, the next chapters will mostly be one-shots. Sorry about that.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games is not mine. That's the sad, sad truth.

Peeta's POV

Katniss woke up soon after I did, smiling again, leaning up to kiss me. "Hey" she said, immedietly curling closer. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist, stroking her back.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked her, brushing the long locks from her face. She frowned momentarily at me, curling part of my hair that flopped into my eyes around her finger.

"You need a haircut" she stated, combing the rest of my hair back from my face with her fingers. I pretended to look taken aback. "What? You're the only one in this house that's allowed to have long hair?"

She smiled at me impishly. "Exactly. Thanks for understanding"

I laughed and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her slightly sweet scent. "No thanks. I don't trust you with sharp objects so close to my neck"

She scowled at me, swatting my head lightly. "Not funny" she pouted.

I rolled over, so I'm propped up by my forearms over her sides. "I beg to differ" I challenged her, then kiss her nose.

She tilted her head back, an invitation. I pressed my lips to hers as her arms slid around my shoulders. After a minute, though, I got tired and leaned onto her, so we were stomach-to-stomach.

"Hey!" she said, pulling back, pushing hard against my chest, "get off! you're heavy!" I chuckled and rolled over, so she was on top of me.

"Really, though. What do you want to do today?"

She frowned in thought, while loose strands of hair tickled my face. Eventually she gave up and leaned her cheek against my throat. "Eh, let's stay home today"

"Sure"

- a few hours later -

"Peeta! Where's the sugar!?"

I sat up from the bed, the blanket falling from my shoulders to my lap. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, taking in Katniss standing in the doorway to our room, her hair still loose, but freshly washed, a too-big shirt hanging loosely on her thin frame. I frowned at her, wondering what time it was. "What do you need sugar for?"

"I'm making cookies"

"What? why?"

She rolled her eyes at me, leaning against the doorjamb. "I'm hungry, and you were asleep." I smiled at her, laying back down on my pillow. "Sure, sure."

"What! I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay, it's in the cupboard next to the oven. Right next to the flour..." I'm not even done before I heard her almost-silent footsteps bounding down the stairs. I glanced at the clock against the wall, and surprisingly it was almost four. Huh. She must've been in the bathroom for longer than I thought.

When I heard the preheated oven beep, I got up and went downstairs with her, only to find Katniss up to her elbows in flour, which also covers her hair, with bits of cookie dough on her arms. She's glaring at a crumbled piece of paper, which I supposed had the recipe on it. "Whatcha doing?"

She glanced up at me once, before turning back to the paper, scrunching her lips to one side. I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her to me. She leans back against my shoulder, tossing the paper onto the counter. "Cookies are done"

I pulled away from her, opening the oven to reveal lumpy bits of brown mush. "Um..."

But she was already gone, in the den with her feet propped up on the end of the couch. "You can make them" she said happily. I grinned at her, scooping away the mess and pulling out a new tray.

When the cookies were done and Katniss was fed, we lay together on the couch, with Katniss in front of me, nibbling on the remains of the last cookie.

"Today was boring" she said, pouting slightly, with her bottom lip sticking out.

"We always have tomorrow." I reminded her.

"Yes. And then you'll need a haircut more."

"Agreed."

Review please! The next chapter will be up REALLY soon!

Happy Thanksgiving! :D

Chapter 25: postponed  
Meh. Writer's block magically lifted from my shoulders. Yay!

PS, takes place after the past random one shot. You can ignore that one. ^^;

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy, but I do own cat named after a brand of cookie 0.o

Katniss's POV

A few weeks after we left the Capitol, Peeta and I were relaxing in the living room, with me eating cheese buns and Peeta sketching me, the late afternoon sun casting strange shadows across the room, bathing everything in golden light, when the phone rang.

At first, neither of us paid any attention to it; we get too many random phone calls anyway. But when Effie's trilling voice called our names, Peeta disentangled his legs from mine, kissing me once on my forehead before leaving me on the quilt on the floor to answer the call.

I laid back down against the soft blanket and crossing my arm over my face, the soft flannel fabric warm against my skin, smelling slightly of Peeta's natural cinnamon scent. I could hear their conversation from the other room and tried to make out what Effie was saying by listening to Peeta's voice muffled through the wall.

"...Yes, Effie, I-"

"...No, of course we love you, it's just that-"

"...Um, I'll have to ask her first"

"Okay... I doubt that though.-"

He paused for a few minutes, listening to Effie droning on before saying a Goodbye, then walking back over to me, a slight smile on his face. "Ugh. Effie wants to plan the wedding. She's getting pretty persistent about it." he said, sitting down cross-legged next to me, his prosthetic leg bumping against the carpeted floor. I bit my lip and crawled over to sit in his lap, leaning back against his neck.

"You told her No, right?" I asked him warily, turning my face slightly to see his expression. He half-smiled, leaning in to kiss my jaw, but I pulled back from him.

"You said No, right?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes to slits to study his face. He pretended to think about it, twisting his lips to the side and rolling his head back.

"Peeta!" I cried.

"Katniss!" he laughed, pulling me to him and squeezing my waist. "Of course I said no." He was still smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Remember the last time the Capitol planned the wedding?"

I swallowed hard. "I try very hard not to"

Peeta genuinely smiled then, pressing his lips to my cheekbone. "Good. It'll only cause more nightmares"

A few days later, I actually had to disconnect the phone from the wall, because of all the calls from Effie and Plutarch wanting to do interviews about the "Celebrity wedding of the century". Effie must have a big mouth.

But for some reason, no one (as in, reporters and/or TV producers) had come banging down the door. Yet.

We even had to postpone our toasting - completely and utterly unfair - because we couldn't leave the house to go to the Justice Building if we tried. So we spent the next two weeks lounging around the house, doing nothing in particular. But one day, I got so restless, that I decided to go hunting. I woke Peeta up at around three a.m., telling him where I'd be and giving him one chapped-lip kiss before retrieving my bow and hunting jacket as I left the house silently, locking the door behind me.

No camera crews or random fans dared wait outside our house in the cold autumn air, so I easily sneaked out through the rusted fence, into the deep cover of the woods, the dark shadows of the trees engulfing me. I breathed out a sigh of relief when I was out of sight from District Twelve.

By the time I got back, the sun was well up in the sky and the cool fall air had all but left the woods, leaving me to the mercy of the burning heat of the sun, beating down on my neck, making beads of sweat roll down my back and face.

I shimmied under the fence, prepared to make a run for the house, although fatigue had definitely set into my muscles. But I stopped short, seeing, just like last night, there was no one around the house. I frowned to myself, wiping the back of my arm across my forehead as I make my way across the small expanse of grass to the back door, where I knocked, knowing all the doors were locked from this morning.

Peeta opens it after only a second, grinning at me brightly as he lets me in. He kissed me briefly, brushing my damp hair off my face before playfully grimacing and saying,"Yuck. You need to shower"

I scowled at him, swatting him lightly on the cheek before dropping my bag on the couch and heading up the stairs to the bathroom.

"Lunch is ready, by the way" Peeta called after me cheerfully. I waved dismissively as I climbed noisily, my boots thumping against the hardwood of the staircase.

I stripped off my clothes and stood under the cool spray of water, letting it unknot my muscles and cool me off.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, I came out, my wet hair dropping over my shoulders and creating small puddles on the floor, the rest of me wrapped in a thick towel.

"Peeta?" I called, shutting the bathroom door behind me, locking the slightly-steamy air into the spacious bathroom. He came into the bedroom, still in his sweats and blue tee.

He smiled at me, walking over and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I held the towel tighter against my chest, but I leaned into him anyway. "Where are the reporters?" I asked against his shoulder. Peeta chuckled slightly and entwined his fingers in a strand of my still-soaking hair. "They left as soon as the clock hit ten - it's boiling out there."  
I nodded against his shirtfront.

"It is." I agreed.

"So I think that they're gone for the week - at least that's what the orange one said."

I pulled away from his embrace to stare at him apprehensively. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. And if they don't, I can always call Gale to send someone in to get rid of 'em."

I froze at the name of my former-best friend, my face a careful mask of indifference, but I couldn't hide the slight pain that reached my eyes. Peeta's face fell at my expression, but he still smiled at me. "Sorry" he murmured, pressing his lips to mine once. "Really. Sorry. Get dressed and we can go into town, alright?" he asked gently. I nodded once, my fingers digging into the soft fabric of the towel against my skin. Peeta kissed me again before leaving the room, the door closing behind him with an audible click.

I got dressed slowly, in khaki shorts and a black tank top, my hair in my trademark braid. I met Peeta back at the bottom of the stairs, instantly wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes."

He nodded and led me outside, his fingers entwined with mine as we made our way out of the Victor's Village, the sun cooling ever so slightly. But, as Peeta predicted, we didn't see one reporter on the trip to or from the town square.

Once we were loaded with sacks of groceries, fruits, and other miscellaneous things, we made our way back to the house, and I noticed that we spend a ton of time there. We don't go out much anymore, either.

After everything's put away and I finish our "elaborate" dinner of chicken and broth, Peeta settles us down on the quilt from yesterday, still laid out in the den, with pillows strewn across the expanse of it.

We eat our dinner in silence, and after a minute I flip on the television, clicking through channel after channel of propaganda, footage of the ruins, new marketing ideas for the districts, but surprisingly nothing about Peeta nor I.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I sent out a silent thanks to Effie, wherever she was.

Peeta caught onto my mood instantly. "You think she gave up?"

"Maybe. I hope so."

"So... Toasting next week?"

"Count on it."

Chapter 26: back to bed  
Today's my birthday (yay) Random one shot during their time at the Captiol. -they're not engaged yet-

I didn't know where (which chapter) to put it, so bear with me here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Suzanne Collin's characters, or the book. Just this idea.

(Johanna's POV)

"Johanna, could you go wake up Peeta? I'll go get Katniss" Effie called as she trotted past me, her hot-pink clipboard clutched against her chest, with her magenta hair piled up on top of her head in a tight bun against the poufy flower with feathers coming out of the center.

"Don't bother. They're probably together in Katniss's room - again - anyway." I rolled my eyes and sat up from the couch in the twelveth floor of the training center while Haymitch guffawed from the seat next to me, still watching the annoying Capitol movie on the flat screen TV embedded into the wall.

Effie clucked her tongue as she passed me in the hall on her way to the dining area, shaking her head in dissaproval, muttering something about being discreet.

I waltzed down the hall, pausing at Peeta's door to knock briefly, but just as I predicted; no one answers. I sighed and walked over to Katniss's nearly gagging when I heard the sweet murmurs of nothings and sheets shifting around behind the door.

I swallowed my bile and, after knocking ten times and still no answer, just turn the unlocked door and go inside. The two lovebirds are strewn across the bed, with Katniss's head tucked under Peeta's shoulder, and his arms were around her. Good thing they weren't naked, but they both looked up at me in surprise when I come in.

I tried not to look too disgusted as I crossed my arms over my chest and glance over them once. "Uh, Anything we can help you with?" Peeta asks somewhat awkwardly, sitting up and brushing his tousled blond hair out of his eyes. Katniss glares at me a moment before yanking the covers over her head; a lump under the thick, plush covers with long, dark locks of hair whipping out from under the pillows.

I leaned against the doorjamb, my arms still crossed. I pretend to inspect my nails as I breath out a sigh of annoyance. "Effie needs you guys to get up and dressed. Like, now." I raised my eyebrows at them, suggesting that I was serious. Peeta nods once and smiles somewhat dismissively. I grimace and leave the room.

Katniss's POV

Once Johanna was gone, Peeta wraps his arms around me again, and I can feel his smile against my cheek when he kisses my temple.

"That went well" he chuckled, twisting a strand of my hair around his little finger. "She looked like she was going to throw up" I smirk, nuzzling into his neck, breathing in the scent of his night shirt. Peeta chuckled and pulled me closer, making me sigh in content.

"Do we really have to get up?" I asked him in a somewhat-whiny voice. Peeta smiles and stands up, leaving me in a tangle of covers with a scowl on my face. Peeta's face creases with laughter as he clicks the door behind him on his way to his own room.

When he's gone and I get bored of sitting there on the covers in wrinkly old clothes, I do decide to get up and dressed.

```fifteen minutes later`````

I braided my damp hair on the way over to the dining room, where Effie's voice wafted over to me, high-pitched and worried. Peeta's more soothing voice trying to calm her down.

When I enter the room, Johanna sighed in mock relief. "Gosh, we thought you drowned in there" she said sarcastically, grabbing Haymitch's drink off the table closest to her and taking a swig.

"Hey!" he protested gruffly, grabbing it back and cradling it to his chest like a bottle-shaped baby.

I rolled my eyes, sitting on my legs on the overstuffed cushions of the couch.

"What're you so sour about, sweetheart?" Haymitch slurs, "Mad that we interrupted your-"

He was cut off by Effie slapping him upside the head, very un-lady like of her. "We do not discuss those matters" she reminded him firmly, making him guffaw and me blush.

I got up from my spot on the couch and grabbed Peeta's hand, who was standing in the doorway. I stomp off with him to the hallway, back to my room.

"Where are you going?" Effie asked worriedly.

"Back to bed!"

Meh, it's really random. Oh well. Review please? for my birthday?

Chapter 27: Toasting  
Thank you all for reviewing XD My mom was confused as to why I was jumping around my laptop from excitement.

PS Katniss has a different eh... view of marriage for this chapter...

Disclaimer: If I owned the Hunger Games, I wouldn't have killed poor Finnick. So No.

Katniss POV

The next week, Peeta and I make sure that Effie didn't send anyone back over to our house, then we leave to the Justice Building to sign the marriage papers. The entire way, I keep glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see someone behind us with a camera, prepared to ruin our private lives once again. Peeta keeps pulling me closer to him, murmuring in my ear that everything's okay. People glance over at us, but not saying a word. I'm grateful.

We get to the Building in ten minutes, and sign the papers given to us by a giddy woman from District Three, her huge glasses sliding down her slender nose every time she glances down. She keeps grinning at us, saying how lucky she is to marry the Star-Crossed lovers. Peeta smiled at her and thanked her, I had just scowled and stared at the clock behind her desk, waiting until we could leave. Thinking of how I'm breaking a promise that I made myself - that I would never get married. But that was before I met Peeta, and everything changed.

Now, here I am with My love in my living room - we decided to live at my house - holding a chunk of bread that he'd baked, me wearing a gauzy white dress I'd found in one of the closets upstairs. No doubt that Cinna designed it, probably created for this very moment.

Peeta smiles at me, pressing his lips to mine before skewering his piece onto a long metal skewer and holding it over the bright flames, where it bumps into mine. When they're toasted, he pulls them out and tear off bits and chunks.

"Tasty, Mrs. Mellark?" Peeta asks me playfully, making me glare at him.

"Eh, you've made better." I answer with a shrug.

Peeta laughs, pulling me closer and burying his face in my braided-bun hair. I nibble on my bread, thinking of my mother; we invited her but she didn't answer. We also invited Annie, but Finn is really sick so she had to stay home to tend to him.

I don't mind not having any attention, it makes this whole ordeal much easier. Peeta was disappointed, and kept looking at me strangely when I smiled at the news. I guess he expected to have at least a small wedding, not one with just the two of us. But either way, he's unbelievably happy. And I mean, really happy. Like, kissing-me-every-two-seconds-and-grinning-like-a-f ool-all-freaking-day happy.

"So this is it" he murmurs, gazing at me much like a blind man would eye the sun for the first time.

"What is?" I ask, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, the deep blue irises staring at me with complete love and adoration.

He smiles so broadly it looks like it hurts, then he grabs me around my sides and falls back onto the couch, kissing me the entire time.

"We're married!" he cheers, his lips pecking me all over my face. I push him away slightly, just so that I could meet his lips with mine.

A few minutes later, when we're both panting and the fire has dimmed slightly, Peeta smiles again and pulls me close to his chest, obviously containing the tremendous excitement he's been holding in all day.

We spend most of the night like that, him saying he loves me over and over, kissing me, and answering the phone to people wanting to congratulate us.

Buttercup even comes out for the occasion, and seeing him reminds me of why I chose to live, for Prim, and instead of letting the tears in my eyes spill over, I scooped up the hideous cat, making him hiss and spit at me, and I kissed Peeta back, thinking of Prim, and my new life, here as his.

The next day, we were scheduled to go to District Three. Well, we weren't scheduled, it was planned. we were going to see Beetee, since the last time we spoke was months ago. The entire trip, Peeta keeps his arm around my shoulders, reminding me of how alien that once felt, when we were coming home from our first games.

"I can't believe it!" Beetee exclaims, throwing his thin arms around both of us, the cold metal frames of his glasses digging into my skin. "Married" he sighs, shaking his head in disbelief.

I smile slightly; this is exactly how I pictured it. No one could believe that we were married; no one really believed that we even kissed anymore. Well, except for the Capitol people, although we haven't really told any. Besides Effie. But then again, she swore not to tell.

Beetee, smiling broadly, takes a shaky step back and marvels at us, still shaking his head. "Amazing. Never would'a believed it" he murmurs, glancing down to the thin wedding band that wraps around my ring finger. I picked it out because it didn't get in the way of the bowstring while I hunted.

Peeta smiles back at him, then looks at me like he did the other day; as if I'm the most valuable thing in the entire world.

I gaze down at my feet, embarrassed. Attention really isn't my thing, especially when people are staring at me like that. After almost another minute of them focusing on me, I lean against Peeta, silently asking him if we can go. He reaches for my hand and gestures for Beetee to lead the way. He proudly leads us away from his District's train station to his home.

I'm sorry it's so short. And Beetee's a little OOC. Really sorry. I'm writing this as I'm being yelled at to go to sleep. I'll update soon! reviews help me write! :)

Chapter 28: District 3  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games. But I do own 3 copies of the book! :D

P.S. sorry for any spelling mistakes for Beetee's name - I'm too lazy to go find Catching Fire - PPS - He might be a little OOC {does that mean Out Of Character?} Sorry. Oh, and I'm trying to write in more detail now - tell me how I do!

Katniss POV

When Beetee finally finishes showing us around his District - showing us every single detail about everything. Every house, lab, school, both train stations, and so much more. By the time we got to Betee's, he had just enough time to show us our room before we collapsed on the bed to sleep on top of each other, a mess of limbs - the door still open, suitcases still unpacked.

A few hours later, Betee came in to the room, knocking on the white wooden door with a wide smile on his still-thin face. Upon seeing him, I merely groan and roll over, my face hidden behind Peeta's back. Peeta hears me stir and sits up, rubbing his eye with one hand while trying to straighten his rumpled shirt. He smiles at Beetee, who is still grinning ear-to-ear. "Guess what?!" He nearly cheers, and I roll over again, pulling a slightly stiff pillow over my face. It smells like slightly sweet laundry detergent, but nothing like the Capitol. Good. . .

"What?" Peeta asks politely, facing our host while trying to subtly pry the pillow from my face, but I'm not giving up without a fight. I dig my fingers deeper into the fabric, silently triumphant when he gives up and pays more attention to Beetee.

"Well,"He says seriously, and I peek out of the edge of my pillow, seeing his face is just as serious as his tone, "The lab just called, and apparently, heard you were in town -er, District - and said they have a bow for Katniss to try out! It's like the one she had in Thirteen, but with more effects..."

By the time he says "bow", I'm already at the edge of the bed, the pale blue threadbare comforter wrinkled in my hands, listening intently. I need a new bow- not that there's anything wrong with the few I have, but. . . .

Beetee grins at my excitement, his posture perking up slightly, and continues with his rant. "So anyway, I was wondering if you two would like to meet me there in about, say, two hours? I need to head down now. We're attempting to create Panem's smallest TV screen-" he glances up abruptly, seeing the time on the old clock above the headrest, his glasses reflecting the light hanging from the ceiling. "Um, actually, I need to go now. You'll be alright? There's directions in the kitchen..." he doesn't even finish before he's already out of the room, his heavy, awkward footsteps pounding loudly on the tile flooring as he makes his way downstairs and out the door.

"Finally" I mutter, shutting my eyes again and kneeling up onto my knees before leaning heavily onto Peeta's chest, rocking him backward until he loses his balance and falls back against the pillows. I curl up against his chest, nuzzling his shoulder as I try to get back to sleep. Peeta chuckles lightly and tries - and fails - to pry me off him. "I thought you wanted to go see the bow?" he asks me playfully, settling instead for brushing my hair from my eyes. "No" I answer with a yawn, "I'd rather sleep." Peeta smirks and lifts my chin to capture my lips on his. We kiss for a few moments before Peeta pauses to catch his breath and whispers against my cheek, "You won't even stay awake for me, Mrs. Mellark?"

I roll over into his body heat, wrapping my arms around my legs, and I notice I'm still wearing my clothes from this morning. "Nah," I say indifferently, nuzzling the pillow from earlier. "Oh, now you've offended me" Peeta chuckles darkly, then I'm scooped up and he's walking towards the bathroom. "Peeta.." I say warily, but my warning falls on deaf ears. I don't get what he's doing until he turns on the water of the bathtub. "Peeta!" I cry, wrapping my arms tight around his neck. But it's too late - he plops me down into the water, and after a minute of shock that he actually dropped me in the water, Which, by the way, gives him just enough time to make his escape, I jump out of the water, sopping wet, and storm off to the bedroom, grab a fresh change of clothes, noticing how Peeta's nowhere to be found.

About an hour later, I storm out of the house, carrying the note that Beetee left us. Ha! Let Peeta get his own map.

Beetee greeted me at the door to a very fancy-looking warehouse-sized building. He was grinning again. "Katniss!" he nearly cheers. I smile tightly in response. Betee pauses and glances behind me. "Is Peeta with you?" he asks, his eyes returning to my face. I scowl at my feet and shake my head. "We had a...disagreement earlier" I say vaguely. Beetee nods in understanding. "The honeymoon stage over yet? And I don't mean to pry, but have you two do...?"

My cheeks flare at his assumption, and I turn my scowl on him, although I've never been bitter to Beetee. "Beetee! No!"

He grins at my embarrassment. "Anyway, come on in." He says, gesturing behind him and leading me inside. The place is even more high-tech than the Capitol-with high ceilings, sterile floors and desks, everyone wearing lab coats and clipboards, and white walls and tiles. He leads me through a long hallway, to an automatic slide-door labeled "Weapons" and through another series of hallways to an unmarked door.

He pushes inside and walks through a crowd of District 3 scientists huddling over steel tables, all writing silently. Past another door and an indoor shooting range, where he stops and leaves me in the wide, bright room for a few minutes and comes back with a big, black box, much like the one that my other bow - the one I used as the Mockingjay - came in. Beetee sets it down on a long bench, clicking open invisible locks and pulling the top back.

Inside is the most powerful bow I've ever seen - a very compound compound bow - with multiple scopes and pulleys on the opposite sides of the bowstrings. It looked heavy too, but when Beetee sets it in my hands, It's nearly feather-light. He reads the awe on my face and smiles. "Do you like it?"

In response, I nod feebly.

Beetee smiles again and goes back through the door in which he brought the bow. It swings silently closed behind him. I marvel at the weapon in my hands until he returns with a sheath of arrows. They're plain, sleek arrows, that don't seem to fit with the bow. A few other people file in behind him, claiming to see how the bow works.

I'm surprised to see Peeta come in after them, smiling sheepishly with his lips pursed. I narrow my eyes at him, then spin around to face Beetee, and the bow and arrows, my braid flicking toward my husband.

"Okay, Katniss..." Beetee begins to explain how the bow is adjusted, which strings to use depending on the arrows, archer's body height, arm length, etcetera.

When he's finished with his introduction, he hands it to me, slings the sheath of arrows over my shoulder, and gestures for me to begin, pointing to each of the targets.

I shoot one more look over to Peeta before propping one end of the bow on my hip as I adjust the arrow's length at a right angle. I click the notch at the end of the arrow into place against one of the bowstrings, and lock my elbow into a straight line before pulling the tight string back, the end of the arrow directly under my cheekbone. The skin of my fingers dig into the the woven string. I re-position where the arrow's aim, the tiny, floating green dot in the middle of the fancy scope to the middle of the target. I let the arrow fly, and surprisingly it hits right in the middle. A few people clap.

I grin as I reload, starting to have fun with this. After a few more rounds, and I'm starting to break the arrows when they all keep hitting in the same spot, almost everyone is gone, I turn around, about to ask Beetee for a finger tab or something, I see we're alone. Just me and Peeta.

He looks up at me from under his long lashes, still smiling apologetically. "Sorry" he says quietly. I ignore him and shoot another arrow. "You know, Peeta." The arrow snaps as it makes contact with the target.

"What?" he asks, and I can hear his loud footsteps padding over to me. "You really shouldn't provoke someone who's experienced with weapons. Especially long-distance ones." I grin to myself triumphantly when I hear him take a hesitant step back. Snap. "Katniss, I'm really sorry." He says, slowly making his way over to me Snap. "I am. I really, really, really, really-"

"Peeta!" I interrupt him

"Huh?" he asks, jumping slightly when he sees the bow's loaded. Good. He should be afraid. I drop the weapon and my sheath of arrows before nearly running over to him and jumping into his arms and kissing him. "Okay! I get it." I smile at him, pressing my nose to the crook of his neck, breathing in his slightly sweet scent. His hand comes up to stroke my back. "You sure?" he asks me, pulling me back from him slightly to read my expression. I grin at him and kiss him again. "Yep. Besides, now I know how to scare you." I say cheekily. The color seems to drain from his face.

I laugh at his discomfort, squeezing my arms tighter around his neck and my legs tighter around his waist. "Ready to go home?" I ask him, brushing his newly-cut bangs from his forehead, revealing the slightly-paler, smooth skin just over his eyes. Peeta looks surprised. "What? You're done with the bow?" he asks me. I nod. "Yeah. It's too...District three for my taste." I shrug.

Peeta grins and presses his lips to my temple, just over a rippled scar that I probe during headaches. "Sure" he smiles, his fingers gliding down my back again.

Peeta, still carrying me, walks out the way we came, having to ask for directions a few times, I might add.

Back at the house, nearly four hours later, Beetee comes back, bounding up the stairs to the guest room. He opens the door, chatting about cell division - whatever that is - interrupting our kissing.

After a moment of a wide-eyed pause, he smiles sheepishly, apologizes for interrupting, and leaves the room, muttering something that sounded a lot like,

"Glad the honeymoon's back on."

Sorry for any grammar, spelling, punctuation mistakes in this chapter, I didn't have any time to edit/revise it. Just had to trust SpellCheck :P

By the way, the bow description is kind of weak - I'm only experienced with compound bows so I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Anyway, please review and the next chapter will be up soon! :)

Chapter 29: Leaving  
Author's Note: This chapter is pathetically short. So sorry. Oh, and the characters

Disclaimer: Thank you Suzanne Collins for the wonderful story to write fanfiction on! (Whoa I just realized I know someone named Collin 0.o)

Katniss POV (My favorite POV :P)

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is toasty warm. I smile to myself and scoot over, wrapping my arms around Peeta's waist - he's facing away from me. He's still asleep, murmuring something about cinnamon and flour. I bury my nose between his shoulder blades and close my eyes, trying to get back to sleep. But then, of course the sun began to shine through the window. Who the heck ever thought of west-facing windows?

I grunt in frustration before climbing off the mattress of the high bed, padding silently over to the window to shut the pale-blue curtains. Apparently my footing isn't quiet enough, since Peeta begins to stir.

"Katniss?" he asks me sleepily. I freeze, still holding the curtains mid-pull. With my head kind of ducked, I turn around and face him. He's rubbing his eye with a balled-up fist, blinking away sleep, his scarred bare chest half-reflecting the sunlight that still streams through the curtains. His hair is ruffled and sticks out in random places, the ashy blonde in contrast against the faded dark circles under his eyes.

I smile at him, walking back over to his side to snuggle down next to him. "Morning" I say softly, letting my fingers trail down his jawline. Peeta's lips curl up at the corners at me, combing my long bangs out of my eyes and pulling me closer to him. "What're you doing up so early?" he asks me, trailing kisses down my neck. I shrug, closing my eyes and trying to fall back asleep.  
"Bad dream, I guess." I answer him, tilting my head back against the pillows for him to reach my throat better.

Peeta groans. "You should have woken me" he says softly, slightly accusingly. Hadn't I said the same thing before to him? "Sorry" I answer him, silently pleading for him to return his lips to my skin. Instead, he wraps his arms around around my sides - against my ribs - and pulls me to him. He buries his face in my hair, murmuring, "You should've woken me" again.

"Peeta, really, it wasn't a big deal"

He looks up from my hair to see my face, and I briefly press my lips to his. "C'mon, time to get up" I say to him, tossing the blanket off of my husband and I. Peeta stands up behind me, his faux leg clunking against the hardwood floor as he follows me to the bathroom to get ready.

Beetee looked like he was about to cry as he followed us onto the train. We promised him we would be back soon - we were going to visit everyone (all the victors) again soon. He'd nodded and smiled, giving each of us a hug and the number to the new department he was going to start working on in the near future.

The train ride home was remarkably quick - the train ride to the Capitol to Twelve seemed to take longer. Peeta was still somewhat regretful from earlier, his face read guilt and he kept pressing his lips to my forehead whenever I wasn't looking.

When we got home, Buttercup was waiting for us outside, on the porch. He looked even more beat-up than usual - if that was possible. He let out a low growl when we approached. So our bond we shared when I first got home from The Capitol was shattered, at least for the moment.

Peeta grins at the scruffy cat, scooping him up and grinning even wider when Buttercup doesn't do anything about it besides give me a smug look. I'm starting to think that dumb cat only likes blonds. (That's how my dog is) I unlock the door and lead them inside, tossing some scraps from a breakfast I'd made long before we left into his bowl. (Buttercup's, not Peeta's). He looks at me almost reluctantly, hands trailing down my arm as I drop the meat into the worn-out metal pan that serves as the cat's feeding dish.

The cat gives me a long hiss before starting on his dinner. I'm just about to turn around to go into the living room, but instead find myself pinned to the wall near the counter by a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. Not to mention the mouth already on mine. My heart pounds in my chest from the surprise of being pinned - though that's not the only reason. Peeta's kissing with an urgency that I barely recognize coming from him. An unexpected wash of love comes over me and I kiss him back.

After a few minutes and my lungs feel like they're about to burst from lack of oxygen, he finally pulls away.

... But only to lean his forehead against mine while we both catch our breath. Buttercup mews impatiently from the counter, waiting for Peeta to go over and pet him again, jealous that I'm the attention now. Peeta's breathing returns to normal, and I pull his mouth back to mine again, pausing only briefly to whisper "I love you" against his throat before attacking him again. Oh, and to shoot a mocking glance over to the irritable cat.

Maybe I feel a little too smug about that fact.

See what I mean? Too *bleeping* short! And Peeta's OOC. Gosh, I read way too much Twilight -_-

Review please? It means the world to me when people comment on my work! ,'.)

Chapter 30: Hunt  
A/N: I've been thinking...Maybe I should edit some of the earlier chapters...A few of them are poorly written. Agreed? Oh, and another thing, Do you think I should start a new long story? (As in, more than 5 chapters) This is my main story, so I was wondering if I should make another, since the reviews are coming less often for this one. Suggestions welcome!

Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins owns all of the characters, plot, and setting of the Hunger Games trilogy. I do not.

Katniss POV

"You sure you're okay up here?" My question seems to fall upon deaf ears, since Peeta is looking at the ground, a mere ten feet away, like it's a pile of writing snakes. But I guess he did here me, since he nods slowly. The tree we're perched in is huge, and if I didn't have any company to look after, I could easily scramble up the branches faster than a squirrel. But instead, I'm stuck down here, with Peeta, who finally made me agree to letting him come hunting with me.

But unfortunately, tree-climbing isn't one of his talents. So, now that I've got him up here, and we're waiting for some game to wander by, he's starting to think of the possibility of falling, a warning I told him to heed when we were back at the house. But no, and now he's stranded up here with me until I shoot enough meat to sustain us and Greasy Sae, who needs it much more than us.

"When you said hunting, I thought you meant actually walking around and finding animals to shoot." He says warily, still eyeing the forest floor. I roll my eyes. Like that'sever going to happen - we'll have better luck winning the Hunger Games a third time before I actually shoot something with him stomping around behind me. But instead of voicing my thoughts, I just say, "Not today" and hand him my knife before bracing my hands against the rough bark of the tree trunk and hauling myself up a few feet, then grasping onto the next branch and the next, until I'm another ten feet up.

Peeta, still on the low branch, watches me warily. "I'll. . . be here." He says, patting the spot next to him on the limb. I nod once at him. "Good idea."

With my hands and hunting boots firmly on the tree, I climb higher and higher, the bowstring digging against my skin as I move. Another branch up, and I'm a good twenty-five feet off the ground, and the fluttering of excitement bubbles in my stomach. I retrieve the bow off my shoulder and notch an arrow into place before locking my elbow and searching the ground with quick, practiced movements of my one opened eye, until I spot a large wild turkey waddling around a neighboring tree. I release the arrow and the fat bird's life ends with a choked-off gurgle.

I smile to myself and glance around the ground, looking for any predators that might want to steal my kill, but after finding none, I continue to look for more game.

"You done yet?" Comes a call from below me. I look down from my perch, spotting my husband, still on his low branch, watching me with concern and anxiousness. I look back up to my bow, where I aim again for a squirrel a few meters away, on another tree. "You know, you can help" I call back down, letting the arrow fly.

"How?"

"Climb down and fetch the kills, or clear out the snares!"

"Oh." Peeta looks down, gulps, and leans over to the trunk, locking his leg into a foothold and slowly beginning to climb back down. I nod once and return to looking out for more animals. But then I see all the carcasses littering the pine-needled strewn floor and decide I'm done for the day.

A quick and easy climb later, I'm back on the ground, picking up my heavy game bag from Peeta and inspecting the kills. Peeta hands me the retrieved arrows. "Thanks" I say, pecking him lightly on the cheek. He smiles triumphantly and goes back to attempting to reset a snare.

When all of the animals are in the bag, all the snares are reset, and it's beginning to get dark out, I decide we're done for the day and we head home. Peeta, happy from the day's findings, chatters happily as he lugs along a bag of herbs. "...So, Delly said that he might propose soon, but you never know..." I only tune in to some parts, really just enjoying having his hand in mine and walking along the edge of what used to be the Seam.

Pretty soon after that we made it to Greasy Sae's, and she answers the rough wooden door with a wrinkled, knowing smile. I hand her the bigger bag containing the turkey, a few squirrels, and a rabbit. "Thank you." She says thankfully, taking the bag with tired, calloused hands. Peeta smiles sweetly as we walk away, making our rounds with a few other houses, including Delly's.

She opens the door with a familiar bright smile and extended arms to embrace us. Once she lets us go, her smile widens. "Congratulations, you guys!" she says excitedly, still holding my hand in hers. I smile shyly at her, still not used to everyone telling me how happy they are that we finally got married. "Thank you" Peeta says sincerely, smiling just a little brighter.

"Can I see the ring?" She asks eagerly, and Peeta looks at me expectantly. I flush in embarrassment. "Um, I - uh, left it at home, since we were in the woods."  
Delly's face falls at my words, and her and Peeta exchange a knowing look. "She never changes, does she?" Delly jokes. Peeta shakes his head and eyes me. "Nope."

I glare at him and pick up my bag, pulling out the slightly-still warm bodies of the animals and handing them to Delly one by one. "Here you go." I mutter once I'm done. She thanks me, and after another minute of talking, we leave.

Back at our house, Peeta disappears for a few minutes, then returns to me and holds my hand. He places his warm, closed fist against my outstretched palm and closes my fingers, then walks away, leaving the wedding band in my hand, the single, tiny pearl shining brightly where it's embedded in the top.

I sigh and put the stupid thing on, rolling my eyes as I walk over to the couch, where Peeta sits proudly, eyeing my finger. "Thank you" he says happily, beckoning for me to join him. I growl once and stomp over, kicking off my hunting boots as I go. I plop down heavily on his lap, making him huff in surprise. I cross my legs over the side of the couch cushions, leaning back against his shoulder. "Still happy?" I ask him, smirking to myself knowing he has a face full of hair.

"Yes. Very happy, actually." He says surely, sliding his arms around my hips and bringing me closer. He kisses my ear, then buries his face behind my jaw. "So happy, in fact, you'll never, ever find anyone as happy as me." I roll my eyes at his exaggeration, but I still snuggle closer, entranced by his warmth. He yawns a moment later, making me grin. "Sleepy, Mr. Mellark?" I ask him, earning a chuckle in response. "Only if you are, Mrs. Mellark."

I take in his sleepy eyes and tangled hair, and nod. "Sure." I answer, standing up from his lap. I take his hand and lean back to get him into a standing position, then lead him upstairs by the hand.

I climb under the covers, and Peeta easily joins me. I toss off my hunting jacket and wriggle close, my braid still strewn across the pillow. Peeta lays an arm across my waist, and I lean my cheek against his shoulder. Then, I yawn.

"`Night." I say after a moment, letting my eyelids droop closed.

"Goodnight" Peeta agrees, shutting off the nightstand lamp.

"Mreow" Buttercup whines as he comes into the room, and we both laugh. Peeta holds me tighter as the wet cat hops up onto my pillow, and after a failed attempt at trying to push him off the mattress, I sigh in defeat and fall contently asleep in Peeta's arms.

Please tell me what you think! I know it really doesn't help anything, and I'm probably just being annoying, but review/PM me with ideas or suggestions regarding this story, the Author's note at the beginning, or any of my other stories.

Thank you! :)

Chapter 31: Pleeease Katniss?  
I was originally going to do 12 days of Christmas chapters, but...I'm lazy.

Merry Christmas everyone! And those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, happy holidays! This is my gift to all of my lovely reviewers, and those of you who didn't review... But anyway, on with the story :D PS this chapter is a repeat of Peeta...since some of you requested that.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the plot of this chapter. :(

Peeta's POV (a few months after previous chapter, in the summer)

This time I'm determined. I won't take no for an answer. Katniss will agree. I stomp up the wooden steps to our home, the white paint peeling slightly at the edges. I open the door quite gruffly, and it swings as far as to crash against the frame.

Katniss, who happened to be skinning a rabbit when I walk in, jumps slightly at my noisy entrance. "Peeta?" she asks, setting down the now-skinless rabbit and picking up a squirrel. "What's wrong?"

I stomp over to her and scoop up her slender frame, making her squeal and drop her hunting knife and the rodent. (A squirrel's a rodent, right?) "Peeta?! What are you doing?!" She cries, clutching my shirt collar so she won't fall. I ignore her protests and walk to the guest bedroom downstairs, since I doubt she'll play along long enough for me to carry her all the way up the staircase to our room.

I shut the door behind me, plopping her on the bedspread and standing in front of her. She looks worried now, and she tentatively takes my hand with her cool, clammy one and looks at me worriedly. "Peeta? Are you having an episode?"

I shake my head and put my own hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye with what must be a desperate look on my face. "Katniss? Why won't you have kids with me?"

My eyes widen when I see her face reflect surprise, shock, relief, and annoyance. "Peeta, I told you- - -"

"No, Katniss, give me two reasons why you won't." I say sternly. I loosen my grip on her shoulders and instead sink to my knees, holding her hands in mine again. She scowls at me, and I have to wait a good three minutes before she answers, "I just don't want kids."

I look at her, exasperated, and mutter, "but Katniss, there's really no reason not to," since I know she already won the argument. I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to. "...fine." I mutter in defeat.

She smiles triumphantly, and I frown at her. "You know, you're going to say yes one of these days." I reason.

She makes a face and nods. "Yeah, I know."

"Really?! So why not say yes now?"

Katniss has that look that says, seriously? and shakes her head. "No, not now. I said one day. Maybe. And didn't I also say that one time to ask me in fifteen years? It's hardly been fifteen." I laugh at her reasoning and climb up onto the bed and inevitably knock her over in the same move. "Peeta!" she protests, but I don't listen, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, burying my face in her hair. "Thank you." I say to her, kissing her all over her face.

"I didn't agree yet, you know" she mutters unhappily. I laugh and ruffle her hair playfully. "It's good enough for me. And hey, you married me. That's already good."

She smiles, no doubt remembering our conversations/arguments about marriage and having children. "Well, yeah. So you should be able to wait it out for a few more years." I look at her, shocked. "Wait, years? I thought you meant months or sooner..." I trail off when I see her steely glare, and smile sheepishly. "Er, sorry."

She sighs and sits up. "Really, Peeta, I said...maybe...So be patient."

I laugh at her. "Hey, I waited eleven years for you. Patience is my middle name."

Review please? As a Christmas present? ':)

Chapter 32: Happy Birthday, Katniss p1  
Christmas present #2 :D (May 8th is Katniss's B-day, right? Or is it May 12? I think they said that in the book...)

Disclaimer: The Hunger Games trilogy belongs to its original creators/owners. I'm not one of them.

Katniss POV

I wake to the sound of eggs frying downstairs, and I kick the blankets off my feet. Sleeping upstairs in Summer is not a good idea. I sit up in bed, my hair tangled and feathery from sleeping, and I stand up and pad across the hardwood to the bathroom, where I take a cold shower.

"Katniss, are you awake?" Peeta's voice is muffled through the door, but I can still catch the excitement in his tone.

"Yeah, be out in a minute" I call back.

"Take your time!" is his reply, and I distinctly here his heavy footing down the stairs.

I wash the soapy suds out of my hair and the rest of me, dry myself off with a towel, and leave the now-steamed bathroom behind. I dress quickly and go downstairs, and the scent of bacon now mixes with the eggs. "Hey," I say, beginning to braid my hair. Peeta looks surprised to see me, but he recovers and smiles. "Morning. Sorry, forgot you wake up early." he says sheepishly as he flips a piece of burnt bacon on a ceramic plate. It doesn't matter that it's blackened, bacon was never seen in District Twelve before the rebellion.

"That's okay. What's all this?" I gesture to the plate he was just using, which contains eggs and bacon I'd smelled earlier. Peeta looks up from the pan he's now washing to gape at me. "You forgot?" he asks in disbelief. I frown at him, confused, which I guess is another thing that says I don't remember. "Umm...What did I forget, exactly?"

Peeta's expression softens, and he smiles. "Your birthday? Remember?"

"Oh," I answer stupidly. Really, every year Peeta makes a big deal about what he does on this day, making me breakfast and taking me out somewhere. In the Seam, birthdays really didn't mean anything, except for the fact that you're one year closer to getting out of Reaping, but it also meant signing up for more tesserae, so not much to celebrate. Peeta laughs, ignoring the dirty dishes and walking over to me, pulling me to him with soapy hands. "Well, Happy Birthday, then." he chuckles, squeezing me closer to him. I slide my arms around his waist, pulling him closer. I didn't really care much about my birthday, having Peeta with me for forever is enough a gift.

A few moments later, he pulls away and smiles at me. "Ready to celebrate?" he asks, and I frown. Peeta laughs and shakes his head. "no, it's just Effie coming over later and bringing cake."

"Oh, good."

He smiles and squeezes me closer, if that's possible. "I would have thought you'd be used to all the attention by now" Peeta chuckles, and I shake my head. "No, it's just that my birthday isn't worth much of a fuss, in my opinion"

Peeta smiles and nods. "Well, your opinion doesn't count in this matter."

"But I thought I get what I want on my birthday!"

"Oh, right."

I laugh and bury my nose against his collarbone, breathing in his faint scent of cinnamon. "How come you always smell like bread?" I ask him dreamily, breathing in again.

"Er, how about you eat breakfast instead of discussing what I smell like."

I plant a quick kiss on the side of his mouth before taking the plate of my now-cold breakfast to the table. "So when's Effie coming?" I ask him, "Maybe she knows how not burn eggs."

Peeta laughs and comes over to me, setting his hands on either of my shoulders. "Hey, I bake you cheese buns, that has to count for something." he protests while brushing stray locks of my damp hair behind my ear. I nod, forgetting that conversation in my next sentence. "So really, when's Effie coming over?"

Peeta shrugs, swiping a piece of his blackened bacon off the plate and popping it in his mouth. "Later, I guess." He answers with another shrug.

2 hours later...

"Katniss, dear! Happy birthday!" Effie's trilling voice brings back so many memories, and I smile, trying to match the wig-wearing, overly-strict, makeup-over-doer with the woman here now, with blond curls and (yes, still) makeup that outlines her lips and eyes.

"Thanks" I say anti-climatically, taking her modest coat from her shoulders and hanging it on one of the coat hangers in the closet. Effie smiles brighter and hugs Peeta. "Oh, and congratulations! I'm so sorry I missed the wedding!" yeah, sure, she missed planning the wedding...

"Thank you," Peeta says sincerely, hugging her back and letting go a second later to take my hand. "She finally said yes" he muses, smiling at me. I glare back.

"Oh, right!" Effie trills, grabbing her purse and pulling out a small, wrapped box. "Happy Birthday!" She says again, smiling even brighter. "Guess who designed it" she gushes, handing over the box. I slide my finger under the edge of the paper, pulling up the edge and prying open the side of the velvet-lined box.

My eyes widen when I see what's inside, and I smile at Effie, this time sincerely. "Thank you, Effie." I embrace her in thanks, looking back at the necklace inside the box. On a long, silver chain, a glistening, tiny stain-glass flame hangs, next to a tiny silver arrow. It can only be Cinna's creation.

"I knew you'd love it!" Effie says happily, patting my hand. Peeta wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. "Ready for my present?"

I look up at him with that "seriously?" look and he nods and smiles goofily. "Yep, here, let me go get it" he says and trots away clumsily, leaving Effie and me alone. "Come on in," I say, walking through the kitchen so we can sit in the living room. She sits down in her lady-like way, starting on a story about what Venia did last week that made the papers. I pretend to listen, but really I'm worrying on what all the bumps and thumps upstairs are.

Five minutes later, by which then I'm just about ready to run upstairs and see if he's okay, Peeta comes down the stairs, holding a small, newspaper-wrapped box under his arm. He smiles brightly, walking over more quickly before sitting down next to me, his leg almost overlapping mine. "Happy Birthday" he says happily, kissing me on the lips despite Effie sitting right there.

He sets the box in my hand and pulls away, still smiling. I look down at the box and start to unwrap it, and a wide smile spreads over my face when I see a painting - no doubt an original by Peeta - of me, Effie, and Haymitch, looking like ourselves, annoyed with each other, yet also somehow in harmony with each other.

I smile up at Peeta. "How long have you had this?" I ask him, running my fingers across the canvas surface, the raised edges of the dried paint bumpy against my skin. Peeta looks up at the ceiling, a long, pale scar running down the side of his throat revealed. "Hm, I guess a month or so." He says, then looks back at me. "So you like it?"

"Yes! I love it!" I gush, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "Thank you." So he's kept it for so long must be why there was crashing upstairs; he must have forgotten where it was. Effie claps her hands together and giggles. "Ooh! And we get to go over to Delly's tonight for cake..." she trails off seeing the look I'm giving Peeta. "Er, was that a secret?" she asks tentatively, looking back and forth between us.

"Going over to Delly's tonight?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes.

"Uh, yeah, didn't I tell you?"

"What happened to no secrets?"

He bites his lip to keep from laughing, and instead pulls me closer to him, squeezing me against his chest. "Sorry. Promise, going to Delly's is it"

"Fine." I mutter, sitting back and out of his grasp.

Next chapter should be up soon :D Review please! (Holidaaaysss)

God bless you all :)

Chapter 33: Katniss's birthday, part 2  
A/N (Please read!):

I got a new computer for Christmas, so I've been taking my time setting it up, so sorry for lack of updates. **This story might end soon, as in a chapter or so, so I want your input on the matter. I might do a sequel, where Katniss is pregnant and they're raising their kids or something.**

Also, check out my sister's first story, it's pretty good! (It's under my stories, called In the cave)

Disclaimer: Hunger Games trilogy doesn't belong to me. This is purely a work of fan-fiction.

Peeta's POV

Katniss was fuming as we made our way across the District over to Delly's, and she completely ignored Effie chattering on and on about who-knows-what, and spent most of the time scowling at me or looking straight ahead. She reminded me of myself when we came back from our first games, when she told me she was only acting for the cameras. But now I'm proud to hold her hand, proud to call her my wife.

We reach Delly's house too soon, at least for Katniss, and Effie opens the door happily for us. I smile at her and guide Katniss in, watching her olive-toned skin pink slightly when she sees the paper lamps and candles. Delly smiles a very Delly-like smile and embraces Katniss, stepping back and letting Dile awkwardly do the same. "Happy birthday!" Delly squeals, hugging Katniss again. She glances behind us and widens her eyes. "Oh! You invited Johanna?" she asks, as surprised as me. Effie smiles sheepishly. "Em, that was me" she says, making room for the victor to enter. Johanna half smiled at me and patted Katniss on the back. "So you're knocked up for real now, huh?" she asks nonchalantly, making Katniss turn red and gape at her. "Johanna!" she screeches, "I'm not pregnant!"

Johanna just shrugged and jabbed her thumb over at me. "Then why's lover boy smiling like an idiot?" she asks sarcastically, and I make an effort to wipe the ear-to-ear grin off my face. Katniss laughs at my failed attempt at a straight face and interlaces her arm with mine. "I don't know," she says, answering Johanna's rhetorical question, "but he does that a lot." She says, watching me with an amused expression. Johanna also laughs. "I can imagine" she says, shaking her head in mock-disapproval.

Delly, whom I don't remember even leaving, sticks her head out from around the corner that leads to the kitchen. Her familiar blond curls swing to the side as she does so, framing her round face and illuminating her bright smile. "The cake is ready!" she says cheerfully before grabbing Dile by the elbow and dragging him out of view to the kitchen and beckoning for us to follow.

Katniss and Johanna lead the way to the kitchen, with me trailing behind. Once Katniss sees the slightly deformed cake, she turns back to me in mock-disbelief. "No way, for the first time since I've known him, Peeta didn't make the cake this time? Is that possible?" I roll my eyes and give her a sarcastic "har-har" before walking up behind her and resting my chin on her shoulder.

On the other hand, Delly, the ever-worrier, flounders around in concern saying, "Can you tell that we made it? You're right- we should've had Peeta do it, he's such a good baker and-"

"No, Delly, it's perfect." Katniss interrupts, a small smile playing on her lips and holding her hands up as if to say Stop, making her look beautiful. Although, she really is always beautiful, no matter what she says to deny it.

Delly, taking her word for it, sighs in relief. "Oh, good. So you really like it? We made it from scratch and everything" she says the end with such pride that Johanna laughs. "Right," she begins sarcastically, "Because throwing eggs and milk and sugar into a bowl and baking it is so hard" and rolls her eyes.

Delly looks hurt for a moment, and Katniss's face hardens. "Johanna-" she warns, but is waved off by said victor. "Yeah, yeah. The knocked-up protector of the innocent doing her job. Got it."

And at this I have to laugh, since that pretty much describes Katniss. Well, except for the pregnant part, but you get the picture. Katniss scowls at me and lightly hits my arm, making Johanna and Delly laugh also. And of course when Delly laughs then Dile laughs, so everyone - including Effie - is cracking up, minus Katniss.

Her expression reminds me of Tigris's in the fluffy underwear shop in the Capitol, full of feline displeasure and annoyance. The resemblance makes me laugh even more. Katniss sighs in defeat. "Can we just do what we came here to do and eat the stupid cake?"

I nod, grinning again, and lope my arm around her waist. "Sure thing, sweetheart." I say to her cheekily and peck her nose.

"So, was that fun or was that fun?" I ask Katniss as she climbs into bed wearing (surprise) one of my shirts. She gives me that familiar sarcastic look as she climbs under the thin covers and shakes her head. "Um, what's answer #3?" she asks, letting her arm fall across my stomach. I grin at her again. "Oh, you know you had a good time" I insist, patting her cheek.

She glowers at me for a solid minute.

Katniss sighs. "Fine, when everyone wasn't laughing at me, it was fun." she admits, tapping her fingers across my chest. "Oh, they weren't laughing at you, they were laughing with you." I say, rolling over briefly to turn off the lamp. Katniss sighs again and snuggles closer, her body heat more pronounced in the humid weather. "Whatever" she mutters, tapping her fingers again. I have to chuckle at her grudging-ness.

"Love you and goodnight" I say to her, brushing my fingers across her bangs - as I plan to do until she falls asleep.

"Love you too" she yawns, leaning into my touch. I smile, wondering if she had as good a time on her birthday as I did.

Thank you for reading and keeping with me all this time. It really means a lot to me. :) And as always, review please!

Chapter 34: Last Chapter Epilogue  
Okay, so I've decided this is the final chapter. And yes, I will do a sequel. Thank you to all you lovely readers and reviewers (You know who you are) for sticking with this story since September. I actually planned for this to end in 2012, but oh well. Anyways, on with the show:

Disclaimer: The Hunger Games trilogy belongs to its rightful owners. I am not rightful nor an owner.

~~Epilogue / Last Chapter ~~

Katniss POV

"You know I love you, right?" I ask Peeta very seriously. He gives me a strange look, as if I'm crazy. Which I probably am. "Yes, I know. I love you too." he says the first part of his statement warily, but his second sentence is all seriousness. I nod in approval once and curl up to him, resting my bent legs in his lap and my head against his chest.

"Ugh, don't you two ever stop?" Johanna complains as she gets herself a drink. I roll my eyes and call back, "no one invited you to stay!'' from my spot with Peeta on the couch. She smirks and staunters over, a glass cup in her hand as she plops down across from us in a padded wooden chair. "Yeah, but no one said I have to go." she shrugs, taking a swig from her cup. Peeta chuckles at her antics and slides his arm, from where his hand was previously entwined with mine, to wrap it around my shoulder. I lean into his side, remembering the distant memory of his arm across my shoulder felt foreign.

"You can stay as long as you want" he says to Johanna sincerely, smiling warmly at her. I roll my eyes again and bury my nose into the crook of his neck. "Nah," Johanna says nonchalantly, "I think I'll go now. Bye!" She stands up and waves her hand. I gape at her as she abruptly leaves, grabbing her duffel bag and her unneeded coat and shutting the door behind her. We both stare at the closed door for a good thirty seconds.

"Er, that was..." Peeta trails off.

"...Random" I finish for him. He nods in agreement. A second later, I turn back to him, tracing imaginary patterns across the slightly-paler skin of Peeta's throat. "So, besides getting rid of Johanna, what else do we plan on doing today?"

Peeta looks thoughtful for a moment about my question, but then smiles. "Want to come with me to the bakery?" he asks, searching my face for any kind of enthusiasm. When he doesn't find any, his face falls a bit, but I catch his chin and kiss him briefly on the mouth. "Okay," I answer him, standing up. Peeta almost looks sad that I left his lap, but clumsily gets up also.

"Let me get a few things, and we can go" Peeta says whilst kissing my temple. I nod and he leaves, his familiar one-footstep heavier than the other.

We walk to the bakery in peaceful silence, arms linked and moving at a comfortable pace. "What'd you bring?" I ask Peeta, eyeing the canvas bag he swung in his arm not connected to mine. He lifts it up, the muscles in his arm rippling slightly from the weight. "A few pounds of flour and sugar. Oh, and some homemade icing." And at this I have to laugh, since really only Peeta would think to bring icing to a bakery.

"What's funny?" he asks warmly as we make our way into the town square. I shake my head. "Just you" I answer him, leaning in closer to his side. Peeta chuckles at my halfhearted answer and opens the door to his family's memorial bakery, despite already being burdened with the weight of his bag. I step inside and do the same for him, the bell over the door jingling as the glass door shuts behind us.

Peeta walks over to the door behind the desk, dropping his bag on the floor where I can't see. Peeta comes back around the display desk, tying an apron on himself behind his back. He's smiling at me, and when his knot is finished he holds out a hand, where a limp apron hangs. I smirk at him. "You really trust me enough to bake something?" I ask him in disbelief. Let's just say that although my cooking skills have improved somewhat, baking really isn't my thing. Peeta shrugs. "We've baked before, remember?"

I shrug back and lean against a chair propped up by the far wall. "Yeah, but then we were at home and there was no danger of me setting a fire with a giant oven." I point out. Peeta smiles again and walks over, wrapping his arms loosely around my hips, while sneakily putting the apron on me. I scowl at him. "Come on, Katniss. If you can survive two games and overthrow the Capitol, I think that maybe you can help bake some bread." He insists, finishing the bow in the back. I roll my eyes. "Fine." I mutter, easily slipping out of his grasp and hop onto the back counter where the sink is.

I turn on the water and look back at my husband. "Okay, what first?" I ask, wiping my wet hands on a nearby rag. Peeta grins triumphantly, obviously pleased with himself for getting my attention. "Okay, so first, what kind of bread should we make?" Peeta asks me, looking through a stack of papers near the register. I walk up behind him and peek over his shoulder, and stop his hand when he's about to shift the papers. "This one" I say, pointing to the picture in the upper left corner.

Peeta looks indifferent for a moment as he reads the recipe, but a slow smile crosses his face as his eyes scan the paper. "Raisin nut, huh?" he asks me in an amused tone. I nod, remembering the very first time I'd had this type of bread, when Peeta tossed it to me that night in the rain all those years ago. The first time I'd really acknowledged him. In answer to Peeta's question, I nod. "Yeah. haven't had some in a while" I tell Peeta, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Alright, then." Peeta says, turning slowly to face me. "C' mon, let's get started" he says cheerfully, taking my hand and leading me towards the back kitchen.

- thirty minutes later -

"Have the raisins, Katniss?" Peeta asks while expertly kneading the heaping mound of dough with floured hands. "Yep" I answer, handing him the carefully measured cup of the dried grapes. Peeta nods in approval as he sprinkles them in, carefully distributing them across the dough. "You can go wash up now, I'll put this in the oven" Peeta chuckles, eyeing my torso where I'd accidentally gotten a handful of flour spilled across myself. I roll my eyes and leave the back room to wash at least some of the sifted white powder off my forearms.

When most of it's off, Peeta comes to join me, washing margarine and sugar off his own palms. He rests his cheek against mine while shutting off the water. "Great job, Mockingjay." he says, tickling my ear with his breath. I smile and turn to hi, pressing my lips to his. Somehow my hands get dry, most likely from the towel Peeta oh-so-conveniently had been holding after the water was shut off.

I guess we get a bit carried away, since one moment we're kissing blissfully alone in the back of the bakery, and the next thing I register is a gruff and uncomfortable cough from behind me. Peeta immediately breaks away and turns to face the customer, his face tainted red. "Hello, er, sorry about that. How may I help you?" he asks breathlessly. The red of his skin darkens.

The customer, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and pale brown eyes looks back and forth between Peeta and I, a slightly atmosphere still hanging in the air. He's slightly shorter than Peeta, with wide muscles and dark clothing. "Yes, I- uh, I placed an order the other day..." he pulls a piece of paper from his pocket, the color and size of it obviously from the bakery. He hands it to Peeta, who reads it carefully, before nodding and leaving the room, patting my shoulder lightly as he goes.

Then I'm alone with the customer, who glances all around the bakery casually. I fiddle with the now-untied straps of the cooking apron while I wait for Peeta to come back. Or at least until my skin returns to its normal olive-tone.

"You're Katniss Everdeen, right?" he asks conversationally, looking over at me, but not in the eye. I nod, hoping he can see me, since really all I want is for Peeta to come back so I can retreat back to the back of the bakery. "Er, well, Katniss Mellark now." I say sheepishly, still playing with the straps. I can here the man's surprise in his next comment. "Oh, uh, congratulations, then." he says, back to being awkward. I nod again, trying to telepathically tell Peeta to come back. But, since I don't have those powers...

"So, um, thinking of continuing the Mellark bakery, with some, er, new additions to the family?" he jokes, and although obviously he's trying to make conversation, it's really getting irritating. And this guy's just like Peeta with the kids-thing. Seriously! It's like everyone in Panem is forcing me to make this choice!

Instead of screaming all of this in the man's face, though, I simply shrug. "Eventually." I say, since that's basically the answer I've been giving anyone. Only for Haymitch has it not been enough of a response. The man gruffly chuckles. "You don't seem too happy about it" he says in an amused tone.

"Everyone seems like they're pressuring me into it." I mutter unhappily after a moment of silence. The man chuckles again, all awkward un-comfortableness gone. "So you don't want children, then?" he asks, his voice still amused.

"I guess I do, but not now." I reply, mentally kicking myself because there is no logical reason for me to be opening up to a complete stranger that might not even be from the same district as me. The man nods sympathetically, leaning against the counter to see me better. "You're still pretty young, you could stand to wait." he jokes, scratching behind his neck. I nod. "It still feels like everyone says I should be a mother now." I state glumly, making a face at the thought of me, a mother. The man smiles again, and at that moment Peeta comes out from behind the doorway, carrying an enormous bag of who-knows-what under one arm. "Here you go sir," he says, and something about his voice makes me think that he's trying to hold back laughter. The man pays the respective amount and thanks Peeta, smiling knowingly at me as he exits.

Once he's out of sight from the bakery window, Peeta walks over to me in the middle of counting the amount of money the man gave him - almost a fourth the amount that other districts might charge for that amount of goods - and loosely wraps his arms around my waist. Being taller than me, he didn't even have to lean up from where I sit on the counter to reach my lips with his.

But a moment later, he pulls away. "I think your bread's ready" he says, smiling teasingly at me as he plays hard-to-get. I roll my eyes playfully as I hop off the counter, following him to the back room where the ovens are. While Peeta pulls out the loaf of bread, he talks to me. "So, what was that man talking to you about?" he asks, a smile playing on his lips and hinting that he knows exactly what we were speaking of.

"Oh, you know, this and that" I answer him sarcastically. Peeta's grin only widens. "So, you'll open up to complete strangers, but not me?" he asks as he places the bread on the cooling rack. I walk over to him and breathe in the sweet, buttery scent of the raisin and nut bread, taking me back to that night in the rain, with Peeta's mother yelling at him and the first taste of the warm loaves that night.

Peeta chuckles without humor and turns to me, tossing his oven mitts on the counter and pulling me to him. I breathe in again, the scent of Peeta all around me. Peeta reaches his hand down and guides it to my chin, bringing his mouth to mine again. This kiss is more intense and more sincere, but somehow, again, someone interrupts us.

The bell over the door rings, signaling the arrival of another customer. This time, I'm the one who breaks away first, my cheeks already red as I turn to the customer. It's not like people haven't seen us kiss before, but it's still embarrassing when we get caught on our own time.

"How can we help you?" I ask the new customer, someone about my age, with medium-brown hair and freckles. He was nice-looking, I guess. He smiled warmly at me, glancing over my shoulder very briefly to look at Peeta. He then looked back at me. "Hi, do you have any more banana bread?" he asks me, smiling again. I turned around to face Peeta, who stood with a blank but oddly angry face while he watched the customer.

"I-uh, I'll go check" I say to him, giving Peeta a look when I pass him on my way to the back.

When I get back, Peeta hasn't moved an inch. The customer, however, shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Sorry," I tell him, "but we're out."

The stranger's look doesn't deflate, and if anything he seemed happy. "Well, that's too bad, then. Have any cinnamon buns?" he asks, his tone suggesting and flirtatious. Suddenly, Peeta's antics make sense. He's jealous again! Only this time he seems even more protective because we're married.

"Cinnamon buns would be over there," I say, pointing to a display case nearest the door. He smiles again and walks over to them, and I turn to grin mischievously at Peeta while he's gone. Mr. Flirty comes back a moment later, his hands trembling ever so slightly from the strain of flexing the muscles in his arms. "I'll take these, then." he says cheerfully as he sets a few individually-wrapped cinnamon buns on the counter.

While I'm ringing up his order, he asks me a question. "So, what's your name?" he asks, again with the flirty tone. I mentally roll my eyes. Did this guy not see Peeta and me kissing when he walked in?

I hand him his change. "Katniss." I say, narrowing my eyes, "Katniss Mellark."

He blinks in surprise, either from my hostile attitude or my change of name, but for whatever reason he then blushes and mutters a small thanks and leaves a moment later. The second he's gone I burst out laughing, turning to face a stunned Peeta still standing near the counter. "Did you see his face!" I laugh, managing to reach Peeta and fall into his arms. After another moment of silence (from him, at least,)Peeta joins in, until we're both laughed-out.

I, still grinning, look at Peeta. "I think I'll come with you more often." I chuckle. Peeta makes a face. "Oh, so you don't want me here?" I ask, hurt. Peeta's eyes widen and he shakes his head vigorously. "No, no, that's not it, it's just been a long day." he answers tiredly. I giggle (still a strange feat for me), and wrap my arm around his torso. "Let's go home, then?" I suggest, making a face when Peeta motions for me to wait and leaves, coming back a moment later carrying a foil-wrapped loaf of bread and apron-free.

"Sorry, you forgot your bread," he says apologetically when he sees me eyeing the foil-wrapped loaf. I shrug, walking over to him and intertwining my hand in his as we leave, Peeta pausing to lock the door behind us.

Our feet crunch along the gravel road all the way to the Victor's Village, and at our house, Peeta and I eat the bread, the taste exactly as I remember it, without the burnt crust. It almost brings tears to my eyes, remembering.

"It's good?" Peeta asks, leaning his hand against his cheek as he watches me. I see the same nostalgic look in his eye; the same one I must have. I nod, taking another bite of my slice, remembering how the Boy with the Bread has always saved me, loved me, and now I can do so for him in return, too.

Crap ending. Oh well. Thank you all for reading all the way to this chapter, it really means a lot to me. I'll try to get Chapter 1 of the next story up soon. I haven't decided on a name yet, any ideas?  
I'll post it on my profile when I decide.

Thanks again! :)

Chapter 35: PREVIEW  
This is a preview to the next story, called "Renewed", it's the sequel to this story, for those of you readers interested.

Peeta's point of view

She told me. She told me. She told me. Katniss told me probably the biggest news I'd ever heard in my entire life.

Katniss is pregnant. For real, this time.

It had to have been at least three minutes that I stood there, staring at her in complete shock as my brain tried to process that information. Well, not complete shock; there's also immense happiness and joy there, too.

It's published! Oh, and there is a poll on my profile, about what the baby's name should be.

Bia! :D


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